








^ 



















AUSTRALIA: 



A BRIEF COMPENDIUM OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION, TOPO- 
GRAPHY, CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES, DESCRIPTION 
OF THE PRINCIPAL RIVERS, HEADLANDS, 
PRODUCTIONS, CLIMATE, SAILING 
DIRECTIONS, ETC., ETC. ; 



THE WHOLE FORMING 



A COMPLETE HAND-BOOK OR GUIDE TO THE GOLD REGIONS: 

INTENDED FOR THE USE OF 

MERCHANTS, SHIPMA8TEES, INTENDENT EMIGRANTS, AND OTHERS. 

TO WHICH IS APPENDED 

A VALUABLE COLLECTION OF TABLES, 

COMPILED FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES, 

SHOWING 

THE RATE OF HARBOR DUES, CUSTOMS TARIFF, PILOT AND TONNAGE DUES, 

PUBLIC OFFICERS' FEES, LICENSES, TOLLS, REGULATIONS 

FOR THE GOLD REGIONS, ETC., ETC. 



BY 

BENTHAM FABIAN 




/ 

NEW-YOKK 



PUBLISHED FOE THE EDITOR BY G. F. HUGHES & CO., 

39 WEST-STREET. 

1852. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by 

BFNTHAM FABIAN, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New- York. 



JOHN F TEOW, PELNTEE, 
49 Ann-street, N. T. 
J 



-9 6^ 



PREFACE. 



The aim which I have had in view in compiling these pages, 
has been to supply a want which I have frequently heard ex- 
pressed in my intercourse with persons interested in the increas- 
ing traffic with the New World ; and to supply this, in accord- 
ance with the spirit of the age, the chief point I have endeavored 
to attain is — utility. 

Though for a period of several years a continuous flood of 
emigration from the Mother Country has been pouring into this 
British Colony, very little was really known by the public here, 
or even in Europe, as to its extent and capabilities, till the dis- 
covery of the glittering ore, that universal magnet, drew the 
attention of all to the subject, when the idea burst upon them 
as that of a new-found world. 

So much was this the case, that I have been frequently 
asked by persons having resolved to go there, to what works I 
could refer them from which they could obtain reliable informa- 
tion on the topics I have endeavored to comprise in this little 
work. Though I have borrowed from others also, I have been 
mainly indebted to the larger work on the British Colonies, by 
H. Montgomery Martin, Esq., an able and impartial writer, 
whose statements are looked upon in Europe as indubitable 
authorities. 



4 PEEFACE. 

To confine the useful information within the limits of the 
Hand-Book, I have been compelled to abandon much interesting 
matter, which I had collected in the nature of an historical 
account of the Settlement, and merely to present Australia as it 
is, with the prospects it holds out to the emigrant, be his object 
Gold-seeking, Commerce, or Agriculture. 

To the many Shipmasters from these shores who will within 
the next few years visit those of a totally new country, much of 
the information, it is hoped, will be found very valuable, parti- 
cularly the Tables of Dues, &c. ; while to my compeers engaged 
in commerce with that quarter of the world, I trust the book 
may prove useful, if it is only by referring those to it who, as in 
my own case, are perpetually asking information. 

As I simply claim the merit of compiling and condensing 
authentic facts and figures, if any of these purposes are answered, 
the full end and aim will be accomplished, of their most humble 
servant, 

BENTHAM FABIAN, Editor. 

New-Yoke:, August, 1852. 



AUSTRALIA 



CHAPTEE I. 

GEOGEAPHIOAL POSITION". EXTENT. — TOPOGEAPHIOAL DESCKIPTION. EIVEES, 

HEADLANDS, ETC. 

Australia or New Holland, which is by far the largest Island in the 
world, forms the principal portion of the British possessions in Austral- 
asia : those possessions comprising in addition Yan Diemen's Land, 
New Zealand, and some lesser Islands in the Pacific. 

The one of which we have alone to speak contains the colonies of 
New South Wales, on the eastern side, (so called from a fancied 
resemblance to South Wales, in GJ-reat Britain,) founded in 1787, as a 
penal settlement; Western Australia, or Swan River, founded in 1829- 
1830 ; South Australia, or Port Adelaide, founded in 1835-1836 ; and 
Port Philip, or Victoria, lying to the south-eastern point of the 
Island, founded in 1836. 

It is in the adjoining colonies of New South Wales and Port Philip, 
that the extraordinary discoveries of the precious metal have lately 
been made, which continue to amaze and enrich the seekers, and which 
are doubtless destined to work a mighty revolution in the commerce, if 
not in the entire destiny of the world. 

Much of the interior of this vast insular continent remains unex- 
plored to this day. It lies between the parallels of 10° 45' and 38° 45' 
S., and the meridians of 112° 20' and 153° 30' E. of Greenwich. It is 
separated on the north from the islands of New G-uinea and the Moluccas 
by Torres Strait, and from Timor and other islands in the Eastern Archi- 



6 AUSTRALIA. 

pelago, by the Arafura sea ; on the south, from Van Diemen's Island, or 
Tasmania, by Bass's Straits : its eastern and southern shores are wash- 
ed by the Pacific, its western and north-western by the Indian Ocean. 
The latitudinal difference between Cape York and Wilson's Promontory, 
the northern and southern extremities, is twenty-eight degrees, equal to 
1,680 geographical miles ; the greatest distance from east to west is 
2,227 geographical miles. The area is estimated at 2,690,810 square 
miles, and the coast line at nearly 8,000 nautical miles, making the 
extent of Australia or Neio Holland, upwards of three-fourths of that 
of the whole of Europe. 



TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION. 

The coast line is marked by deep gulfs, fine bays, and capacious 
havens. On the North is the large Gulf of Carpentaria, with York 
harbor, or Endeavour strait, on the north-east limit, and Melville Bay 
at north-west entrance. Van Diemen's Gulf, Cambridge Gulf, Admiralty 
Gulf, Brunswick Bay, Queen Charlotte Channel, Melville Island, Raffles 
Bay, and Port Essington, afford secure ports on the north, and north- 
west shores. On the West there are Prince Regent's Inlet, Doubtful 
Bay, King's Sound, Buccaneers' and Dampiers' Archipelago. Exmouth's 
Gulf, Sharks Bay, Ereycinets harbor, and Swan River. Port George 
the Fourth, Hanover Bay, and Camden Sound close together, are very 
fine havens. 

On the South lie King George's Sound, Fowler's Bay, Spencer's 
(900 miles deep) and St. Vincent's Gulfs, Encounter Bay, Portland 
Bay, Port Philip and Western Port. 

On the East are Jervis Bay, Botany Bay, Port Jackson, or Sydney, 
Newcastle, Port Stephens, Port Macquarie, Moreton Bay, Hervey Bay, 
Port Curtis, Keppel Bay, Port Bowen, Princess Charlotte Bay, and 
numerous secure roadsteads, situated on the north-east, between the 
Barrier Reefs and the coast. 

Australia, like the other continents, has an Island of considerable 
magnitude attached to it, namely, that of Van Diemen, or Tasmania, 
lying at the southern extremity. The other principal Islands are 
Melville and Bathurst on the north, Kangaroo, near St. Vincent's 
Gulf, and Groote in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Great Sandy Island on the 
east ; and exactly opposite on the west, Dirk Hartog's Island. There 
are several smaller islets and groups. 



AUSTRALIA. 



Howes' and Balls' Pyramid Islands, east of Porte Macquarie, are 
400 miles from the shore, and do not partake of the features of Australia. 
They are very remarkable, and rise in basaltic columns from the sea. 



RIVERS. 



The navigable Rivers to the Coast are few for the extent of the line. 
The Murray, in South Australia ; the Hunter and Brisbane, in New 
South "Wales ; the Albert, running into Carpentaria Gulf; the Adelaide, 
into Van Diemen's Gulf; the Victoria, into Cambridge Gulf; the Prince 
Regent, Fitzroy, and Glenelg, on the north-west coast ; and the Swan, 
in Western Australia, are the only streams navigable for ships for even 
a few miles from the ocean, where their entrances are barred. 



MOUNTAINS AND HEADLANDS. 

So far as the country is known, one mountain range bounds the coast 
from Bass's Straits to York Peninsula, and is continued in what 
Leichardt calls a " collar" round the Gulf of Carpentaria ; on the 
western shore ranges run parallel with the coast, and slope off towards 
the east and north. Probably the highest mountains will be found at 
the Australian Alps, in the south-east, and at Arnham and Tasman land 
in the north-west. The dip of the high land on the east coast appears 
to be from south to north, viz., from Mount Kosciusko, 6,500 feet high 
in the Australian Alps, in 36° 20 ; S., to Mount Hinchinbrook, 3,500 
feet, in 18° 22' S. ; Cape Direction, 1,250 feet, in 13° S. ; and Pud- 
ding-Pan Hill, only 384 feet, in 11° 19' S. From Fowler Bay, in the 
Australian Bight, westward to King George's Sound, there are low cliffs 
of a calcareous marine formation, or sandy dunes, with occasional points 
of granite ; the general elevation being from 300 to 500 feet, without a 
single watercourse for 800 miles ; and according to an intelligent writer 
in the Sidney Herald, the north-west coast between the parallels of 16° 
and 21° is composed of low sandy beaches, with no appearance of high 
land behind them. "With these two exceptions the whole of Australia 
is surrounded. by a mountain belt, from 2,000 to 6,000 feet in height, at 
a distance of 50 to 100 miles from the coast, with collateral spurs or 
buttresses. From the outer and most precipitous side of this girdle 
short rivers flow to the sea coast ; from the inner and less precipitous 



•8 AUSTRALIA. 

face, which in several places declines in successive terraces, different 
rivers flow, it is supposed, towards some great central basin, or are 
swallowed up in the burning sands, or evaporated by the intense heat of 
a tropical atmosphere, increased by the distance of the central parts of 
Australia from the sea, or possibly these inland streams may be ab- 
sorbed by immense marshes. But all these suppositions would seem 
to indicate that this vast island is of recent date compared with other 
portions of our globe, and that the interior is still little better than a 
slightly elevated ocean bed, with a mountain crust around it. 

The information obtainable of the coast line is imperfect, but the 
following is a connected view, so far as is known, commencing at Cape 
Capricorn on the east coast, in 23° SO 7 30 // S. lat. 

The most remarkable features on the adjacent shore are — Round 
Hill, 2,000 feet ; Mount Larcom, 1,800 feet ; and Peaked Hill; which 
stand out in bold relief against the pure blue of an Australian sky ; 
they are fronted with groups of coral islets connected with the Great 
Barrier Reef.* Cape Capricorn itself has a hump resembling a haycock. 

Southward of Port Bowen there are two peaks with an elevation of 
about 2,000 feet, which form the northern end of a high rocky range. 
The country surrounding Port Bowen is picturesque ; many ranges of 
hills, both peaked and roundbacked, rise near the coast, and have an 
elevation in the interior of 2,000 to 3,000 feet. 

In consequence of shoal bars there is not an easy entrance for large 
vessels much further than Entrance Island. 

About West Hill and Broad Sound the coast of the main land is 
formed of a low sandy shore, with a flat country of five or six miles 
wide, backed by a bold range of lofty flat-topped hills, with here and 
there a conical peak. West Hill rises directly from the sea to the 
height of a thousand feet. 

The Northumberland Islands have an elevation from 200 to 400 feet, 
in one instance of 720 feet. The crests of the western isles are covered 
with pine trees. The Percy Islands are also elevated, wooded, and 
composed of a trap-like compound with an aspect of serpentine. 

At Cape Pahnerston there is a small headland of red quartzose 
rock, and adjacent there is a cove five or six miles deep by three wide. 
Near to the harbor are grassy slopes, open woodland, and hills with 
jungle and lofty trees. 

* Stoke's Discoveries in H. M. S. Beagle, 1837—43. Juke's Voyage of H. M. S. 
Fly, 1842—46. 



AUSTRALIA. 9 

A solid range of uniform hills, at a distance of five to ten miles from 
the coast, between Broad Sound, in 22° W S. lat., and Whitsunday 
Passage, in 20° 20 / S. lat., bounds a fine undulating tract of country, 
well watered, covered with abundant close grass, timber of large size and 
various descriptions, and many small bays and inlets. 

Cape Hillsborough is a bold headland, 900 feet high, and very steep 
all round. 

Cumberland Island is a singular mass of rocks, and appears as if 
made up of angular fragments of compact feldspar cemented together. 

At Port Molle, at the north-west end of Whitsunday Passage, the 
shores rise in a steep slope, and in some of the places adjacent to the 
strait, have an elevation of several hundred feet, covered by magnificent 
forests, the greater part of which are of the pine species. This timber 
tree, which resembles the Norfolk Island pine, is found along the east 
coast from Port Bowen to Cape Melville, but Whitsunday Passage 
seems to be the favorite locality. 

Mount Dryander, on the promontory which terminates Cape Glou- 
cester, is more than 4,500 feet high. There are hills around to the 
height of 700 to 1,000 feet. 

Cape Upstart, so called by Captain Cook, consists of a huge mass 
of granite, about 2,000 feet high, rising abruptly from the water on all 
sides, and connected with the mainland by a mangrove swamp. It has 
a singularly rugged and barren aspect, and appears like a vast mass of 
ruins, — its crests are covered by huge boulders, or blocks of loose 
rock, with patches of scrubby vegetation. The cape is insulated by a 
small creek, winding round the southern foot of the high land, and con- 
necting the bays on the east and west sides of Cape Upstart. Immense 
beds of mangrove stretch round the head of Upstart Bay, and a wide 
flat runs for some miles beyond them into the country, over which are 
seen some bold hills, in separate groups, rising like islands out of the 
level land. 

Captain Blackwood, R. N., crossed a very pleasant grassy country, 
towards the hills in the north-west. 

Mount Elliott^ lying about forty-five miles west and by north from 
Cape Upstart, is a long level hill, peaked at its northern extremity. 

Wickham River, north of Cape Upstart, is approached through 
heavy breakers, and the opening seen by H. M. S. Fly, in 1844, was 
about three miles wide, and had a depth of three and a half fathoms, 
about 200 yards from the north shore, where the land was an open 
forest country, with green grass and scattered trees. The south shore 



10 AUSTRALIA. 

seemed a great mangrove swamp, with a spit of sand running out to sea 
among the breakers. At a distance of seven miles from the inside of 
the breakers, the reach of the river curved to the west, became shal- 
lower, leaving the steep cliff and forest land of the north or left bank, 
passing over flats of sand and pebbles ; beyond this the boat could not 
proceed. From the top of the river cliffs, forest land was seen stretch- 
ing into the interior, the trees close together, and the underwood thick. 

The land round Cape Boivling Green is scarcely above the level of 
the sea, and is probably the delta of a large river. Palm island^ are 
lofty, wooded, and have a picturesque appearance, especially Magnetic 
Island, so named by Cook. The mountain range seen from Cape 
Bowling Green is at least thirty miles in the rear. 

Cape Cleveland is, like Cape Upstart, abrupt and broken, but more 
woody, .having fine pines in many of its gullies. At this point the Cor- 
dillera of Eastern Australia tower to a considerable elevation close to 
the coast. From Cape Grafton to Cape Tribulation precipitous hills, 
bordered by low land, form the coast line ; the latter-named cape con- 
sists of a lofty group with several peaks, the highest of which, in the 
shape of a finger, is visible from the sea at a distance of twenty leagues. 

Gould Island Peak, in Rockingham Bay, is nearly 1,400 feet above 
the sea ; about five miles to the south-west of it is Mount Hinchinbrook, 
2,500 feet high. It is a broken mass of hills, covered with ragged 
knolls, and sharp inaccessible pinnacles, furrowed by deep and precipi- 
tous ravines. On the mainland is an unbroken range of high land, 
none of less than 2,000 feet elevation, stretching along the shore to the 
southward, and after sweeping round Rockingham Bay it rises and 
spreads to the northward into still loftier and more broken mountainous 
elevations. The summit of this range, near Rockingham Bay, is very 
level, but there are many projecting buttresses and ridges on its seaward 
slope, which is everywhere very steep, and apparently furrowed by many 
gullies and water-courses. 

Endeavour River, where Captain Cook careened in 1770, after grind- 
ing the bottom of H. M. S. Resolution for twenty-three hours on En- 
deavour Reef, has for its external aspect bare and rocky hills of moderate 
height, with their seaward slopes almost destitute of vegetation. On 
the north shore is a line of sand dunes beneath the higher hills ; on the 
south shore is a hill of moderate elevation, tolerably clothed with small 
eucalypti, and sloping down to a grassy flat, fronted by a line of man- 
groves. Beyond these the land is low for some miles, and then backed 
by tabular flat-topped hills a few hundred feet high, and of a different 
aspect to those usually seen on the coast. 



AUSTKALIA. 11 

Cape Bedford is one of the most remarkable features on this coast, 
being a bluff detached piece of table land, surmounted by a singular low 
line of cliffs, which forcibly reminded Captain Stocks of the lava-capped 
hills on the river Santa Cruz, in East Patagonia. 

Cape Flattery is a conspicuous headland, consisting of two peaks, 
with a slope between them. 

Lizard Island, in 14° 40' S. lat., has a bold aspect of nearly 1.200 
feet elevation, composed entirely of granite, and nearly destitute of 
wood ; on the westward is a grassy well-watered plain, with some 
smaller ridges. The appearance of the coast now changes from mode- 
rately high conical-shaped hills to table-land ranges of 500 to 600 feet, 
trending about south-west and by west. 

Cape Melville, which stands out like a shoulder for more than forty 
miles beyond the coast line, is composed of piles of reddish-colored 
stones, scattered about in the utmost confusion, and in every possible 
direction, over a high ridge. There are several dangerous islands and 
rocks off this headland. 

Princess Charlotte Bay is large and free from shoals ; at the head 
of the bay is a remarkable level-topped hill, conspicuous from the low 
nature of the surrounding country. 

Claremont Islands are a low rocky group, surrounded by coral reefs. 

Cape Direction has a moderately increasing height, compared with 
the coast immediately to the southward. A round hill, in 13° S., has 
an altitude of 1,250 feet. 

Restoration Island [visited by Captain Bligh in the Bounty launch, 
in 1789], in 12° 37 7 S., is a rocky lump, terminating in a granitic peak 
360 feet high. It was so named by Bligh, from his having seen it upon 
the anniversary of the recall of Charles II. to the throne of England. 

Fair Cape, and thence to the northward, presents a series of un- 
dulating hills from 500 to 700 feet in length. The monotonous aspect 
is broken by Pudding-Pan Hill, so named by Bligh from its resemblance 
to a sailor's pudding-pan. It has a height of 354 feet. 

Cape York, the most northern point of Australia, has a small rocky 
island not quite 300 feet high, steep, and nearly conical, separated 
from the main land by a narrow boat passage. Immediately south of 
Cape York Island the land rises into a somewhat sharply-peaked hill, 
with an elevation of 420 feet. It is called Bremer Peak. To the east- 
ward is a shallow bay, with a flat sandy beach, backed by a belt of 
jungle, then a small woodland, and behind rocky hills 300 feet in height, 
one ridge of which comes down to the beach. Excellent fresh water is 



; 12 AUSTEALIA. 

everywhere procurable by digging, and this position seems well adapted 
for a British settlement, as it would, in fact, form a " corner shop" for 
all vessels passing to the eastward. 

Endeavour Strait , between Cape York and Cook's islet, is a safe 
harbor for shipping, except in one or two places near the shore. The 
west entrance is encumbered by large sand banks, through which, how- 
ever, there is a safe passage, with never less than four fathoms water. 
The islands which stretch to the northward from Cape York, across 
Torres Straits to New Guinea, are all rocky, steep, many 500 feet high, 
and composed, like the rocks of the adjacent main land, of porphyry, 
sienite, and siliceous schist. Mr. Jukes considers them merely the 
submarine prolongation of the great mountain chain of the east coast of 
Australia, and which passes from New South Wales to the southward, 
through Bass's Straits to Yan Diemen's Land. The loftiest and most 
massive portion is between Cape Upstart and Cape Melville, whence it 
gradually decreases to Cape York, where the hills are 500 to 600 feet 
high. 

Possession Islands in the mouth of Endeavour Strait, and the larger 
islands to the northward, are all rocky and barren, with here and there 
small fertile and cultivable spots, and by no means deficient in beauty, 
being of varied and undulating surface, with lofty peaks and ridges, and 
sheltered valleys, but they seem to be mostly destitute of water, except 
in the rainy season ; their inhabitants are few and scattered, and appear 
to be peaceable and well-disposed. 

Booby Island, much frequented by boobies, pigeons, and quails, called 
also the " Post Office," forms the western limit of all the dangerous 
part of Torres Straits in the ordinary track of vessels, and for half the 
year it is a constant place of resort for vessels proceeding to India and 
China from Australia. It is a mere rock, about fifty feet high, and a 
quarter of a mile in diameter, the summit consisting of bare porphyry. 

A shed has been erected, beneath which is a large chest containing 
a blank book with pens and ink, a bag of beef and some biscuit for any 
boat's crew escaping from a wreck. Letters are left here by ships, and 
notices are entered in the book announcing their safe arrival. (A simi- 
lar practice prevails at the Galipago Islands in the Pacific among the 
whalers.) All the ships which have recorded their passage at the " Post 
Office" appear to have entered the Barrier Reef between the parallels 
of 11° 30/ and 12° 10/, generally about 11° 50', reaching Sir Charles 
Hardy's Island the same day. They all note a strong northerly current 
outside the reef, in some instances of nearly three miles an hour. The 



AUSTRALIA. 13 

time occupied in making the passage from Sydney by the outer route 
was from fourteen to twenty days, which was shorter than the route 
between the reefs and the main land, though attended with much greater 
risks. In traversing the " inner route," vessels are obliged to anchor 
every night, which is a severe labor for the small crew of a merchant 
ship. 

The Barrier Reefs are a peculiar and important feature in the N. 
and N. E. coast of Australia ; the great coral reefs form a vast subma- 
rine buttress which skirt the shore, and in the instance of the ?' Great 
Barrier Reef" extend from Breaksea Spit in 24° 30 / S. lat., and 
153° 2(y E. long., to Bristow Island on the coast of New Guinea, in 
9° \5 / S. lat. and 143° 20' E. long., a distance in a straight line of 
about 1100 geographical, or 1260 statute miles — the longest known 
coral reef in the world. This reef stretches along the Australian coast 
at a mean distance of thirty miles from the land ; the outer edge being 
in some places not more than ten or fifteen, in others 100 miles distant. 
Outside the barrier there are numerous detached reefs, of greater or 
less magnitude, extending from Torres Straits to New Caledonia ; but 
the distance of these isolated reefs from the Great Barrier, is from sixty 
to one hundred miles. There are therefore two passages for vessels 
sailing from Sydney by the N. E. route to Singapore, China or India, 
via Torres Straits — first, the Inner passage, about thirty miles wide, 
between the main land and the Great Barrier ; and second, the Outer, 
sixty to one hundred miles wide, between the Great Barrier and the 
detached reefs and coral islets, which are so numerous that Flinders 
gave to Torres Straits the appellation of the coral sea. Mr. Jukes, the 
naturalist, on board H. M. S. Fly, Captain Blackwood, recently engaged 
in laying down beacons, by which vessels proceeding to the eastward 
through Torres Straits might be enabled safely to enter the principal 
openings in the Great Barrier in order to pass between Australia and 
New Guinea, has given in an interesting " Narrative of the surveying 
voyage of H. M. S. Fly" useful details respecting these reefs, on the 
authority of Mr. Evans, master of H. M. S. Fly. It appears that the 
Great Barrier reef is composed of different formations of coral, viz. : — 
the (1) linear, (2) detached, circular or oval groups. The linear rise 
from great depths, have a breadth varying from a quarter of a mile to a 
mile ; are in length from three to fifteen miles ; have on the outer side 
an unfathomed depth, and on the inner, soundings of from ten to twenty 
fathoms. The detached reefs are generally circular or oval, flat at the 
surface or near the level of low water, the edge gradually rounded off. 



14 AUSTBALIA. 

sloping down into deep water, sometimes to 200 fathoms, and at Wreck 
Bay to 285 fathoms without soundings. The centre consists generally 
of dead coral branches, among dazzling white sand ; the living corals 
are more to the edge of the reef. The line of reefs runs N. and N. by 
E., whilst the Australian coast trends to N. N. W. ; the distance from 
the land is gradually increased, and at Cape York in 11° 40'' S. lat. the 
passage is eighty to ninety miles wide ; it is, however, supposed there 
are several inner reefs, and as the coral polypi are continually sending 
up new banks, this passage, even with its smooth water, must always be 
hazardous. On the authority of Captain Flinders, it is stated that the 
Great Barrier Eeef towards the south, is ninety to one hundred miles 
from the shore, with which it has no cross communication. The breadth 
of the reef towards the south is forty or fifty miles ; it becomes narrower 
towards the north. At Cape Tribulation, in about 16° S. lat., the 
Barrier Reef closes in with the shore. For about 350 miles from the 
.southern opening off Breaksea Spit, there is no navigable passage 
through the barrier that can be safely trusted ; there are some crooked 
intricate openings. The interior passage between the reef and the land 
is remarkably clear from dangers, except in the vicinity of the numerous 
little islands with which it is dotted ; the depth of water at a distance 
from these islands is very uniform. When the wind is from the east, 
the sea breaks upon the outer margin of the reef with terrific violence, 
but the inner waters are perfectly tranquil. 

Wreck Reef is 300 miles to the north-west of Breaksea Spit, and was 
in 1803 an incipient island, in length 150 fathoms, by fifty in breadth, 
with a general elevation of three or four feet above ordinary high water. 
A few diminutive salt-water plants resisted the saline spray ; the eggs 
of sea-fowl were observed ; and probably now there are cocoanut or 
other trees, whose nuts or roots have been drifted there by the ocean. 

On a reef may be seen coral growing beneath the surface of the 
clear water, in the shape of wheat sheaves, mushrooms, stags' horns, 
cabbages, and a variety of other forms, with vivid tints of every shade 
betwixt green, purple, brown, and white ; equalling in beauty, and ex- 
celling in grandeur, the most favorite parterre of the curious florist. 

The beacon erected by Captain Blackwood, of H. M. S. Fly, on 
Raines islet, as a mark for the best passage through the outer line of 
reefs, is a circular stone tower, forty feet high, and thirty feet in dia- 
meter at the base, where the walls are five feet thick. Internally it is 
divided into three stories, accessible by ladders. The roof is a dome- 
shaped frame of wood, covered by painted canvas. The summit is 



AUSTKALIA. 15 

raised seventy feet above low-water mark. There is a large tank adja- 
cent ; and a garden has been planted with cocoanuts, maize, pumpkins, 
&c. 

Torres Straits on the north, before mentioned, is one mass of islands, 
reefs, and shoals, with six to twelve fathoms water at the narrowest 
part, and nowhere deep water, so that with clear weather, and the sun 
vertical or in the rear, a vessel may be safely navigated. The beautiful 
light of the tropics is increased by the reflection of the nearly color- 
less bottom, covered with various molluscse. some perfectly transparent, 
others of various hues. Fish of all sizes, shapes, and colors are seen ; 
the voracious shark eagerly pursuing his prey, the turtle rolling along 
in his unwieldy shell, and sea-snakes of large dimensions and of glowing 
lustre may be traced in their rapid gliding movements as clearly as if 
they were flying in the air. 

The Gulf of Carpentaria extends inland about 600 miles ; its 
breadth being about 400, and coast line, including bays and inlets, 900 
miles. 

Bountiful Islands form the eastern part of the Wellesley group on 
the south-west coast of the Carpentaria Gulf. They were so named by 
Flinders on account of the plentiful supply of turtle found there. He 
mentions having obtained from one turtle 1,940 eggs. Near the islands 
was noticed, by Stokes, a " shrubby, thick, compact sort of sea-weed," 
also seen on the parts of the north-west coast frequented by the turtle, 
and which is probably their food. The islands are one mile and a half 
from each other ; the larger and more northerly is two miles and a half 
long by three-quarters wide, with cliffs on the south-east side of sand 
and ironstone formation, the latter predominating. 

Sweers Island, south of the Bountiful Islands, bounded by low dark 
cliffs on the north-east, is very woody, and was found to be literally 
covered with locusts. 

Bentinck Island has an extent of ten miles either way, is slightly 
elevated, thickly wooded, and abounds in several sorts of winged game. 

Point Inscription (so called from a tree being found by Stokes, with 
a notice of Flinders' visit in the Investigator forty years previous cut 
thereon) is in 17° & 50", and 7° 28' 30" E. of Port Essington. 

The west shore of the Gulf of Carpentaria is somewhat higher than 
the east shore, and from Limmen's Bight to the latitude of Groote Ey- 
land, is lined by a range of low hills. Proceeding to the northward the 
coast becomes irregular and broken, consisting chiefly of primitive rocks, 
the upper part of the hills being composed of a reddish sandstone. The 



16 AUSTEALIA. 

general range of the coast, from Limmen's Bight to Cape Arnhem, is 
from south-west to north-east ; and three conspicuous islands at the 
north-west entrance of the Gulf of Carpentaria have the same general 
direction. Low land extends westward to Castlereagh Bay and Goul- 
burn's Island. The Liverpool River, on this part of the coast, is four 
miles wide at its mouth, with a tortuous and rather shallow stream, 
which has been traced inland to about forty miles from the coast, through 
a country whose general elevation does not exceed more than three feet 
above high-water mark ; the banks low, muddy, and thickly wooded. 
West of Goulburn's Island the coast is more broken and irregular, but 
the elevation is inconsiderable, Coburg Peninsula not being more than 
150 feet above the sea, and the hills about 300 to 400 feet in the back- 
ground between the Liverpool and Alligator rivers. Some of them are 
remarkable for their linear and nearly horizontal outline, the tops re- 
sembling that of a roof or a haycock, the transverse section being 
angular, and the horizontal top an edge. The Coburg Peninsula pro- 
jects N. N. W. from the main land of Australia for a distance of fifty 
miles, the greatest breadth being fifteen miles, and the narrowest, five 
miles. 

Port Essington, in 11° 6' S. lat., and 132° 12' E. long., is seven 
miles wide between Point Smith on the east side, and Yashon head on 
the west. The port extends about eighteen miles in a S. S. E. ^ E. di- 
rection, with a depth of twelve to five fathoms. At the southern end it 
forms three spacious and secure harbors, each of them extending in- 
wards three miles, with a depth of two and five fathom soundings ; mud 
and sand. The shores of Port Essington consist of little bays and 
sandy beaches, alternating with bold cliffs and steep clay-banks ; inland, 
a continuous forest of trees, occasionally relieved by undulating or 
round hills, with an elevation of 100 to 200 feet above the sea. At 
Port Essington, the sides of the harbor are formed by several low 
rocky headlands, and cliffs of red or white sandstone and ironstone, 
twenty to thirty feet high ; between the cliffs are shallow coves, backed 
by mangrove swamps, and behind a low country, with a sombre wood of 
low eucalyptic trees. Victoria (a recently formed British station) con- 
sists of a few wooden houses, on a flat piece of land forty or fifty feet 
above the level of the sea. on the west side of the harbor. 

Raffles Bay, in 11° 12/ S. lat., 132° 26' E. long., thirteen miles east 
of Port Essington, is of a circular form, with a diameter of three miles, 
and shallow depth, varying from three to four fathoms. 

Melville Island, separated from the north coast of Australia by 



AUSTRALIA. 17 

Clarence Strait, which is about fifteen miles wide, lies between the 
parallels of 11° 8' and 11° 56' S. lat., and the meridians of 130° 30' 
and 131° 34' E. long., five degrees west of the Gulf of Carpentaria, 
and distant 330 miles from the island of Timor in the Eastern Arch- 
ipelago. The extreme length from Cape Van Diemen to Cape Keith 
is seventy-five miles ; the extreme breadth from Cape Radford on the 
north to Cape Gambler on the south, is thirty-seven miles. The surface 
of the island is low and gently undulating, averaging from twenty to 
seventy feet above the sea, except on the south coast, where some peaks 
have an altitude of 250 feet. The north line of coast is low, and lined 
with mangroves ; the east, west, and south sides more elevated, some- 
times forming abrupt cliffs or clay banks. 

Bathurst Island, separated from Melville Island by Apsley Strait, 
is of a triangular shape, each side measuring about forty miles. It is 
similar in appearance and production to its neighboring island. The 
approach to Apsley Strait is intricate, beset with shoals, and notwith- 
standing an excellent survey made by Major Campbell, formerly com- 
mandant of Melville Island, too dangerous for general navigation. 
Apsley Strait, and the creeks and rivers on the north coast of Australia, 
abound with alligators of fourteen to twenty feet in length, and sea and 
land snakes two to twelve feet long. 

Port Banvin, in 12° 27' 45" S. lat., 1° 19' 40" E. of Port Essing- 
ton,hasan entrance between white cliffy projections, three miles distant 
from each other ; although of considerable size it has much shoal water, 
especially on the west side. The shore is low and sandy, sprinkled with 
brushwood, and has singular detached peaks in the back. 

Point Peirce, Treachery Bay, where Captain Stokes was speared 
and nearly killed by the natives, is in 14° 25' 50" N. lat., 2° 49' W. 
of Port Essington. It has wooded cliffs of a reddish hue, from the quan- 
tity of iron in the rocks. 



18 AUSTBALIA. 



CHAPTER II. 



CLIMATE. GEOLOGY. MINEKALOGY. 



CLIMATE. 



Excepting on the marshy shores of the north-west coasts of Australia, 
the climate of the whole territory is remarkably salubrious ; this is 
proved by the good health of the Europeans engaged in the exploring 
expeditions even within the tropics, where they have been most labori- 
ously employed for months, exposed to a burning sun by day, without 
any shelter by night but that of a tree or ledge of rock, and with very 
imperfect and scanty nutriment. Yet among many hundreds thus 
occupied, there is in the long list of sufferings from various causes no 
record of any one dying from fever or other palludial influences. When 
Dr. Leichardt proceeded on his perilous journey to the north-west, he 
found the land become more elevated and the climate cooler. He re- 
marks, " The bracing nature of the south breeze at night had a very 
beneficial influence on our constitutions, and the regular interchange of 
land and sea breeze contributes everywhere to render a climate healthy." 
Captains Grey and Lushington on the north-west coast, after twelve 
weeks' toilsome exploration, did not suffer from climate disease. Neither 
did Captain Stokes and his gallant companions experience illness during 
their surveys of the Victoria, Albert, Adelaide, and other rivers in trop- 
ical Australia, although absent for weeks among mangrove shores. 

The sandstone strata which constitutes such a large portion of north- 
ern and north-western Australia, must have considerable influence in 
giving the peculiar dryness perceptible in Australia, where, as has been 
truly observed, every thing absorbs heat freely, and radiates it into the 
surrounding atmosphere ; the sea air, instead of being cooled and pre- 
cipitated in refreshing moisture, has its temperature raised, and becomes 
an absorbent of any moisture on the surface, for the open and scattered 
woodlands, with their small, thinly disseminated leaves, instead of pro- 
tecting the soil from the parching effects of a vertical sun, become con- 



AUSTRALIA. 19 

ductors of heat, and are ever ready to catch fire from the slightest 
spark. 

The south wind is always cold, and invariably indicated by a rise of 
the barometer, which does not ascend above 30260 or fall below 29540: 
rain usually commenced in the north-east quarter, and gradually went 
round to the north-west. The sky, generally speaking, is without a 
speck, and the dazzling brightness of the moon is most distressing ; it 
is impossible to shut out its light ; and its irritating effects are very 
remarkable. In Central Australia the fleece of the sheep taken by the 
explorers into the interior ceased to grow, as did also the hair and nails 
of Captain Sturt and his party. These facts and the scanty vegetation, 
indicate the excessive dryness of this portion of the country, arising not 
only from the solar rays, but also by the terrestrial emission of heat 
from approximate volcanic fires. It is probable, also, that very little 
rain reaches the centre of Australia ; on the north coast the rainy mon- 
soons are greatly mitigated by the mountainous islands of the Eastern 
archipelago ; on the north-east coast, the lofty coast ridge of four to five 
thousand feet elevation intercepts the showers from the Southern Ocean ; 
the Australian Alps, in the south-east, are the means of diffusing a large 
quantity of moisture over the adjacent region, but the comparatively 
lower elevation of the coast range of Western Australia permits a greater 
diffusion of rain and dew towards the interior. The presumed absence 
of any large mountains in the centre of Australia, the great distance of 
that centre from the ocean, the sandy formation of the country, and the 
saline qualities of the soil, all contribute to the belief that the interior 
of this insulated continent will not eventually be found available for the 
support of civilized man. But making large allowances for the barren 
central region, and for the sandstone wastes in other places, there prob- 
ably is not less than two million square miles capable of yielding in 
abundance the productions of the temperate and of the torrid zones, 
and where horned cattle and sheep may be multiplied to an extent that 
would furnish all the inhabitants of Europe with animal food. 

The average production of wheat in Australia, on good soils, is from 
twenty to thirty bushels per acre, weighing from sixty to sixty-five 
pounds the bushel ; in some districts forty, and even fifty bushels have 
been obtained from an acre of land. Maize yields forty to seventy 
bushels net, according to the quality of the soil, and the carefulness of 
the culture. The potato gives two crops in the year, and green peas 
are gathered in winter as well as in summer. 

In New South Wales, January is the middle of summer, and July 



AUSTRALIA. 

of winter. The summer extends from 1st November to 1st March. 
Spring and fall are brief, but well denned ; the winter is of a bracing 
coolness, with occasional frosts at Sydney, and snow in the interior. 

The Spring months are September, October and November: Sum- 
mer, December, January and February: Autumn, March, April and May: 
Winter, June, July and August. 

March. April and August are generally considered the rainy months. 

The average temperature of Spring is 65° 5', of Summer 72°, 
Autumn 66°, and Winter 55°. 

The Barometrical pressure is about 29.94319 inches, and the average 
of the Thermometer 64° Fahrenheit. 

There is every variety of climate ; by proceeding to the Blue Moun- 
tains a cold winter may be enj jyed, or at Moreton Bay a warm one. Of 
course as the land rises above the level of the ocean, a difference of 
temperature is felt ; the winter at Bathurst, where the luxury of snow 
is in its season enjoyed, being much colder than on the sea shore. 

The air is remarkably elastic ; old persons arriving in the Australian 
Colonies from Europe, find much of the hilarity of youth restored to 
them. Not more than five or six sick persons will be found in a com- 
munity of twelve or fifteen hundred. At some of the military stations, 
seven years have elapsed without the loss of a man ; several colonists 
are stated to be upwards of one hundred years old. Mr. Martin saw a 
woman said to be one hundred and twenty-five years of age, about her 
daily work, at a roadside inn. Persons frequently sleep in the open air in 
summer time; and several explorers have for months had no other canopy 
but an Australian sky. It is said to be owing to the fineness of the 
climate that dogs do not go mad in Australia, that horses are seldom or 
never known to kick, that herds of wild cattle have a degree of tame- 
ness unknown on the Pampas of South America, and that the descend- 
ants of Europeans are remarkable for their equanimity of temper, 
which is probably partly attributable to the salubrity of the climate. 

According to a meteorological register kept for five years, at the 
south head of Port Jackson, a naked sandstone cliff, exposed to high 
calorific effects from solar radiation, the extreme range of the barometer 
was 1.140 inch, and its mean range 1.0594 inch, or, in round numbers, 
about one inch to one-sixteenth. The same general law which influences 
the barometer in Europe, operates in Australia ; the mercury rises with 
the polar and falls with the equatorial wind ; i. e., in Europe a northerly 
wind would cause an elevation of the barometer ; in Australia a south- 



AUSTKALIA. 



21 



crly wind produces the same effect ; in both hemispheres an equatorial 
wind would cause a fall. 

The following table exhibits the range of the barometer and ther- 
mometer for each month in the year, the state of the hygrometer, and 
the prevailing winds and weather, at Sydney : — 





Barometer, 6'2 feet 
























above the sea. 


Hygrometer. 


Radiator. 


Thermometer. 








Weatl 


er. 




Months 


' 


















Winds. 


Dave 


Davs 






Stormy 




Maximum 


Minimum. 


Ma . 


Min. 


Max. 


Min. 


Max. 


Med. 


Min. 




inne. 


Kain. 


Stormy. 


Cloudy. 


and 
Cloudy. 


Jan.... 


30.300 


29.430 


68 


9 


101 


63 


91 


75* 


60 


SS.E. 


15 


4 


12 








Feb.... 


30.300 


29.680 


75 


35 


94 


48 


90 


74 


58 


E.S.E. 


20 


4 


5 


— 





March 


30.490 


29.580 


74 


10 


83 


42 


83 


m 


60 


E. 


19 


10 


2 


— 





April . 


30.458 


27.772 


78 


40 


87 


53 


83 


70 


57 


W. 


21 


6 


— 


3 





May... 


30.442 


29.602 


79 


26 


66 


35 


73 


61* 


50 


W. 


23 


3 


— 


5 


— 


June .. 


30.350 


29.290 


78 


25 


67 


32 


62 


52 


42 


s.vv. 


20 


1 


— 


9 


— 


July... 


30.315 


29.840 


76 


27 


59 


26 


60 


54 


48 


s.w. 


17 


8 


5 


— 


1 


Aug... 


30.248 


29.488 


78 


29 


67 


31 


66 


55 


44 


s.w. 


14 


9 


7 


— 


1 


Sept. . 


30.380 


29.520 


79 


18 


83 


34 


67 


49* 


42 


N.E. 


20 


— 


8 


— 


2 


Oct.... 


30.200 


29.300 


80 


20 


86 


42 


82 


69* 


57 


N.E. 


21 


3 


5 


— 


2 


Nov... 


30.220 


29 860 


76 


10 


84 


51 


91 


74 


57 


E.&W. 


31 


— 











Dec. .. 


30.110 


29.530 


72 


30 


96 


59 


87 


75 


63 


N.E. 


20 


— 


10 


— 


1 


Year.. 


30.490 


29.290 


80 


9 


101 


26 


91 


- 


28 





241 


48 


54 


17 


7 



The annual mean of the external shade of the barometer at Port 
Jackson, was — 





mo. 


1841. 


1842. 


1843. 


1844. 


For the Year - 

April - - - - 

October- - - 


63.186 

67.23 

68.16 


64.656 

67.66 

62.76 


62.72 
61.46 
63.47 


62.73 
63.62 
61.07 


61.49 
60.31 
61.12 


Summer ... 
Winter - 


— 


— 


6^.390 
57.055 


67.987 
57.473 


66.731 
56.245 


Difference - 


— 


— 


11.335 


10.514 


10.486 



Note.— April corresponds to mid-autumn in England, October to mid-spring 
Annual Mean Temperature at Fort Jackson. 



Years. 


Summer. 


Winter. 


Difference. 


1842 
1843 
1844 


68.390 
67.987 
66.731 


57.055 
57.473 
56.245 


11.355 
10.514 
10.486 



22 



AUSTEALIA. 



Sydney (Port Jackson) may be compared with a port to the north- 
ward and another to the southward, thus — 



Thermometrical 


Port 
g Macquarie, 


Port 
Jackson, 


Port 

Phillip, 


Range. 


' Lat. 31° 25'. 


Lat. 330 51'. 


Lat. 38° 18'. 


Summer: — 








Maximum 


88.3 


81.9 


90.6 


Minimum - 


61.8 


59.0 


48.8 . 


Fluctuation 


26.5 


29.9 


41.8 


Mean 


75.0 


73.9 


69.4 


Winter : — 








Maximum - 


75.3 


73.3 


69.8 


Minimum - 


46.8 


45.3 


36.9 


Fluctuation 


28.5 


28.0 


32.9 


Mean 


61.0 


59.3 


53.3 


Annual Mean 


68.0 


66.6 


61.3 


Annual Fluctuation 


27.5 


28.2 


37.3 


Warmest month - 


Nov. 


Nov. 


Nov. 


Coldest'month 


August 


July 


July 



The registers from which the above are taken were kept for the three 
years ending with 1842. It will be observed that the highest annual 
fluctuation of the three stations is at Port Phillip, viz., S7.3; but at 
Quebec it is 59 ; at St. Petersburgh, 57 ; at New- York, 55 ; Buda, 44 ; 
at "Warsaw, 43.2 ; at Philadelphia, 43.3; at Vienna, 43; Copenhagen 
and Zurich, 38.9 ; Milan, 38.4. 

In the southern hemisphere snow is perpetual at 6,000 feet above 
the sea, in Europe at 10,000 feet. This may be partly attributed to 
the great extent of ocean in the south, and the absence of any interven- 
ing land between the south pole and Australia, whereby there is at least 
a difference of five degrees of latitude in regard to temperature. 

Considerable allowance must also be made for the direction, inten- 
sity, and thermometrical condition of different currents of air. 

The quantity of rain which falls in Australia is considerable. The 
following table shows the quantity registered as fallen, with the respec- 
tive number of days, at South Head, Port Jackson, 240 feet above the 
mean tide level, out of, and comprehending a period of four years and 
nine months, equal to 1736 days : — 



AUSTKALIA. 



23 



Year. 


No. of Inches. 


No. of Days. 


1840 






(9 months) 


49.65 


108 


1841 


76.31 


142 


1842 


48.32 


137 


1843 


62.78 


168 


1844 


70.67 


157 


Total 


307.73 


712 



Strzelecki gives the annexed returns for New South W ales and Van 
Diemen's Island, which includes 8730 days' observation brought to the 
term of averages for every season at each station : — 



Station. 


Summer. 


Winter. 


Annual 
Quantity. 


Average No 
of Inches. 


New South Wales. 
Port Macquarie, - 
Port Jackson, 
Port Phillip, - - - 

Van Diemen's Island. 

Woolnorth, ... 
Circular Head, - 
Port Arthur, 


37.58 
24.42 
13.25 

19.68 
11.31 

16.94 


25.10 
28.00 
17.47 

29.07 
24.11 
17.75 


62.68 
52.42 
30.72 

43.75 
35.42 

44.69 


i 48.60 
> 41.28 



Rain sometimes falls in continuous torrents in Australia. One fall 
during twenty-four hours in Port Jackson amounted to twenty -five inches; 
and ten to fifteen feet above the ordinary level of a river is not an un- 
usual height during a season of rain. This statement will dissipate an 
idea prevailing that little moisture exists in Australia ; it must, how- 
ever, be admitted that, with a comparatively high temperature and 
thirsty soil, Australia requires a far larger amount of moisture than 
England ; and that the effect is much more beneficial with a smaller 
quantity in the latter-named country, than that derived from a larger 
quantity in the former region. At Port Macquarie, where the heat of 
summer is intense, more rain falls during that season (thirty-seven 
inches), than in the whole year at Port Phillip (thirty inches), where the 



24 AUSTEALIA. 

climate is less torrid, and the land less exposed to the effects of the hot 
winds. 

The summer represents that of western Europe, between 41 ° and 
55° N. lat. ; the winter, that part of the Mediterranean between the 
coasts of Spain, Italy, France, and Algiers, extending to Tunis and 
Cairo. It is probable that the extension of cultivation, the pernicious 
custom adopted by Europeans, of burning the surface of the land, to ob- 
tain a new crop of grass, and the extensive forest conflagrations caused 
by the carelessne >s of the aborigines in scattering fire, or by the fric- 
tion of dry trees, have contributed to increase the mean annual tem- 
perature of Australia since its colonization. 

Rapid growth, and early development of the intellectual as well as 
physical structure, characterize human life in New South Wales, espe- 
cially among females. At fifteen, a girl possesses all the charms, and 
many of the graces, of womanhood ; but it must be admitted, that at the 
age of thirty, her bloom has passed away, although the vigor of existence 
is unimpaired. The springs of life seem to attain a rejuvenescence in 
those arriving from Europe. Numerous instances (as has before been 
stated) occur of persons arriving in the colony at sixty, and upwards, 
who acquired new vigor, and attained a hundred years of age. 



GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY, ETC. 

This immense island appears of diluvian rather than volcanic origin ; 
but different causes may have operated conjointly in its formation; after 
having been left partially dry by the receding of the mighty deep from 
the north to the south pole, some powerful submarine action (as in the 
case of Chili, and other parts of America,) may have raised the crust of 
our globe, in this spot, above the ocean level, either at one shock, or by 
a series of successive shocks. But one comparatively recent active vol- 
cano is known, viz., Mount Wingen, in New South Wales ; but vast 
quantities of marine shells have been found, at various degrees of eleva- 
tion above the sea, in some places imbedded in sandstone. On the east 
coast of Australia, sandstone strata lie there in beds, one on the top of 
another, in the most regular manner, their original relative situation 
evidently having never undergone any change. Some of these beds, 
though perfectly horizontal, a ad of regular thickness, consist of thin 
laminae, which incline at a considerable angle to the north-east. This 
sandstone is principally silicious ; sometimes it is argillaceous, and in 



AUSTRALIA. 25 

this state it is generally found over coal, in which situation it is soft and 
very decomposable. Among the coal measures, thin beds of what may 
be called calcareous sandstone are occasionally met with. In fact, ac- 
cording to Mr. Berry, who devoted' considerable attention to the sub- 
ject, the mountain ranges on the east coast of Australia, from Bass' 
Straits to 19° S. lat., consist, with few exceptions, of vast conglomera- 
tions of sandstone. 

Mr. Jukes says, that the mountain chain on the east coast has an 
axis of granite, with occasional large masses of greenstone, basalt, and 
other igneous rocks. It is flanked on both sides by thick beds of palaeo- 
zoic formations, chiefly sandstone, but also containing limestone and 
coal. 

At the 19th parallel, a chain of lofty granitic or primitive mountains 
appears, of various elevation, forming the barrier towards the ocean for 
about 300 geographical miles, i. e., to the parallel of 14° S. lat. Here 
the sandstone again predominates, the land gradually dipping till it 
loses itself in the sea to the north, whence coral reefs extend as far as 
the eye can reach. 

Not the least remarkable circumstance connected with Australia 
is the contrast its geological features present, when compared with the 
apparently volcanic islands in the adjacent Coral and Arafura seas. 
The line of islands between Cape York and Mount Cornwallis are all: 
granite, or old metamorphic rocks, and those lying between that line and 
the volcanic islands of Erroob and Murray group, are all flat coral 
islands. 

On the north-west coast of Australia the predominant geological 
feature is red sandstone, while at the island of Timor the little rocky 
headlands on the coast expose beds of coral and limestone, full of corals 
and shells apparently of recent formation. This limestone appears to 
constitute the whole surface of the island, spreading over all the adja- 
cent high lands, at an elevation of 2,000 feet, giving them rather a 
smooth and level outline. 

The rocky islands in the central north and south bend of Torres 
Strait are, in some instances, inhabited, but only those within thirty or 
more miles from the coast have cocoa-nut trees on them. 

The Coal Formation, as yet discovered, applicable for domestic or 
steam purposes, is confined chiefly to the east coast of Australia. 

Diversity of surface and aspect produces, in Australia, diversity in 
appearance. Forest timber, brushwood, and grasses are not divided into 
zones, as in other countries, according to their elevation ; the nature of 



26 AUSTEALIA. 

the soil and the proximity of water seems to determine the class of pro- 
ductions, irrespective of latitude or altitude. In many places, the whole 
face of the country has the appearance of a landscape garden — a grove 
here, a lawn there — beyond a shrubbery, or clump of trees, and fre- 
quently a natural wall of light-colored stone, scarcely to be detected 
from good masonry, and appearing through the foliage like the enclosure 
of a parterre. The interior explorers found these apparent " pleasure 
grounds " of various sizes, suited to the humble cottage or the princely 
mansion. " Even in my own limited experience of these strange regions," 
says Mr. M. Martin, " I have felt it difficult to realize the fact, that so far 
from having been adorned by the hand of civilized man, they were un- 
trodden, save by the foot of the wandering savage." 

The idea that gold was to be found in Australia is by no means a 
new one. The same gentleman, in writing of that portion of the 
island called New South Wales, says of St. Vincent County, which is 
the general coast line of the colony : " The greater, and especially the 
northern portion of this country, is very wild and mountainous ; and 
will probably afford a rich field for geological and mineralogical 
research." And adds in a note, that, in his opinion, gold would be 
eventually found there ; an opinion the correctness of which has been 
recently so abundantly manifested. 

Sir Thomas Mitchell discovered the gold region in New South 
Wales, while exploring the interior, but he was unwilling to notify the 
region lest the colonists should leave their flocks and herds to go in 
search of the precious metal. 

Many years since, too, that distinguished geologist, Sir Roderick 
Murchison, predicted that gold would be extensively found in Australia 
by reason of its geological formation, with a latitudinal, rather than a 
meridional direction, to which it may be added, that the perturbing sub- 
terranean forces of the earth, as manifested in the Rocky Mountains, 
the Andes, the Hymalaya, or from Kamtschatka to Borneo have a 
general axis from north to south. 

It would be unreasonable to expect connected details concerning the 
gaological formation of a country so newly discovered, and still so 
imperfectly known ; but the valuable labors of Count Strzelecki, Sir 
Thomas Mitchell, Messrs. Berry, Jukes, and others, have however fur- 
nished much interesting data. The line of coast throughout the 
territory of New South Wales, presents in general an aspect of bold 
perpendicular cliffs of sandstone, lying in horizontal strata. These 
cliffs are occasionally interrupted by sandy beaches, behind which the 



AUSTRALIA. 27 

country is low. or undulating, the high land retiring to a considerable 
distance. These spaces are supposed by Mr. Berry to have formed, at 
no very remote period, the entrances of bays and arms of the sea : 
indeed in many parts they are still occupied by sandy beaches, extensive 
salt water lagoons, being separated from the ocean only by a bank of 
sand, through which the impetuous waves even now occasionally force a 
passage; as at Reid's Mistake, at Lake Macquarie, near Newcastle, and 
at Lake Alexandrina, at Encounter Bay. As a general remark, the 
country east of the Blue Mountains, may be said to be of a sandstone 
formation, and that on the west granitic. 

Australia, particularly Port Phillip and New South Wales, abounds 
in mineralogical treasures : gold, copper, and steel have been found, but 
the most useful discovery yet made is coal, which exists in several dis- 
tricts, but especially in the country south of Hunter's river, New South 
Wales, which is an extensive coal-field, and where the sea cliffs present 
a most interesting section of this stratum. The seams of coal are dis- 
tinctly visible on the abrupt face of the cliffs, forming the south head- 
land of the harbor of Newcastle, and may be traced for nine miles, 
when they abruptly terminate, suddenly bending downwards, and sink- 
ing below the level of the sea. From this place a long sandy beach and 
low land extend to the entrance of Lake Macquarie, the south head of 
which rises into high cliffs, in which the coal strata again present them- 
selves. Between the coal beds are strata of sandstone, and beds of 
clay slate, with vegetable impressions — sometimes, but more rarely, 
indurated claystone. Embedded in these strata, there is abundance of 
argillaceous iron ore ; this is occasionally cellular and in layers, but for 
the most part it appears in the form of petrifactions of trees and 
branches, irregularly dispersed. The coal is decidedly of vegetable 
origin, the fibre of the wood being often quite distinct, while the vege- 
table impressions in the clay slate, under and over the coal, are sin- 
gularly beautiful; some of these subterraneous plants appear to have 
been in full flower, so that a skilful botanist might ascertain even their 
species ; and Mr. Berry thought he could distinctly ascertain the leaf 
of the lamia spiralis. 

About three miles along the south coast of Newcastle, in an upright 
position at high-water mark, under the cliff and beneath a bed of coal, 
there was recently found the butt of a petrified tree, which, on being 
broken, presented a deep black appearance, as if passing into jet ; and 
on the top of the cliff at Newcastle, embedded at about a foot beneath 
the surface, lying in a horizontal position, and nearly at right angles to 



28 AUSTRALIA. 

the strata of the cliff, the trunk of another tree was found, finely 
grained, both specimens being traversed by thin veins of chalcedony. 
In the alternating strata of the coal, which runs generally in three 
parallel horizontal beds, are found nodules of clay, ironstone, and trunks 
and stems of arundinaceous plants in ironstone ; in one place a narrow 
bed of ironstone, bearing impressions of leaves, is remarkable ; while 
thin h-minse of the same mineral, the surface of which is traversed by 
square and variously shaped sections of the same, are seen on several 
parts of the shore, both in the face of the cliff parallel with the beds of 
coal, and extending into the sea, forming the strand at low water. 

Nor are these indications confined to the district of the sea-shore at 
Newcastle ; thin beds of coal and iron may be seen along the banks of 
the Paramatta river, and in other places. Coal abounds in ihe vicinity 
of the burning Mount Wingen, and near the Kingdon chain of ponds ; 
also at Moreton Bay. 

The Newcastle (New South Wales) coal, analyzed by Count Strzelecki, 
gave — (one description) — charcoal, 62.8 ; bitumen, 25.2 ; earthy matter, 
25.2, One pound of coal yielded one foot 1.806 cubic inches of illumi- 
nating unpurified gas. The gaseous mixture contained in 100 volumes, 
was — sulphuretted hydrogen, 10; carbonic acid, 10; defiant gas, 17; 
carburetted hydrogen, 11 ; other inflammable gas, 52. Every 100 parts 
in weight, yielded — coke, 71.2; coal tar and ammoniacal liquor, 15.6; 
ultimate elements, deducting the earthy matter, carbon, 70.5 ; hydrogen, 
20.4 ; nitrogen, 9.1. This coal burns easily, with a reddish flame, swells 
and agglutinates. It is of a black color, even fracture, foliated struc- 
ture, soft and brittle, specific gravity, 1.31. The quality of this coal is 
about equal to the English Newcastle coal ; it is now being extensively 
raised by the Australian Agricultural Company, who have a lease of the 
mines. A seam has been recently found ten feet thick ; and there are, 
probably, other large outcrops of coal in the adjacent districts. 

Copper ore of very rich quality, is found in great abundance ; in the 
districts of Wellington the beds of ore are supposed to extend for miles 
in every direction, and according to the Hawkesbury Courier, " a high 
hill in the neighborhood presents indications of being a solid mass of 
metal." The Molong Mining Company are raising large quantities of 
ore for shipment to England ; and there is a rich vein of copper near 
Bathurst. 

Iron abounds in various parts of the colony ; and most of the 
smaller streams are impregnated with it. A few miles north by west 



AUSTRALIA. 29 

of Mount Wingen. are stumps of trees standing upright in the ground 
apparently petrified, and strongly impregnated with iron. 

According to Mr. Pattison, in the neighborhood of Camden a mine 
has been opened where steel " is dug from the earth with little boring, 
and of endless extent." 

The volcanic character of the country in the Port Phillip or Adelaide 
district, has long indicated the presence of rich minerals. Copper and 
lead ore have been found on the banks of the Barwon river, in the 
Geelong district. The specific gravity of the lead ore is 6.4 per cent. 
Copper ore, lead, platina, and manganese, have been discovered along 
the coast from Point Urquhart to Moonlight Head, at Cape Otway. 
The ore runs in horizontal veins of four miles in breadth, varying from 
east-northeast to west-southwest. The specimens of copper ore col- 
lected in this district yielded, on an average, forty-five per cent, of copper. 

The rivulets Merri and Darebin, in Melbourne district, are strongly 
impregnated with aluminous matter. Ironstone abounds in several dis- 
tricts, usually in the shape of pebbles strewed over a plain. Surveyor 
Hoddle, in his survey of the country near Melbourne, found that seventy- 
five per cent, of this stone consisted of iron ore ; and so powerful was 
its effect upon the instruments of the surveyors, as to render it neces- 
sary to sell the sections of land at a certain number of acres, more or 
less, it being found impossible, in some situations, to obtain correct 
measurements. The sides of Mounts Elephant and Nanime, particularly 
those of the latter, are covered with a quantity of scoriae somewhat re- 
sembling the refuse of smelted iron. These mounts bear every appear- 
ance of having had a volcanic origin ; their form is that of a horse-shoe, 
open to the westward ; the interior sides slope down almost to a level 
with the exterior bases. 

Gold is plentiful in the Pyrenee mountains, distant about 1 00 miles 
from Melbourne. It is said to have been discovered by a shepherd lad, 
who, after selling his gold at the city, returned to seek for more; he was 
followed by some persons, and not having since been heard of, is sup- 
posed to have been murdered. Dr. Clutterhuck saw, in 1849, at the 
shop of Mr. Brentani, a watchmaker and jeweller at Melbourne, several 
pieces of native gold ; one lump, of great purity, weighing twenty-two 
ounces, exhibited minute portions of quartz, was soft in texture, easily 
cut with a knife, of uneven surface, somewhat oblong, and more than an 
inch in thickness, as if taken from a perpendicular fissure in the rock. 
Mr. Brentani is said to have a lump weighing seventy-two ounces. The 
commander of the ship Berkshire, which left Port Phillip for London, 



30 AUSTRALIA. 

25th February, 1849, purchased fourteen ounces of the native gold 
from Mr. Brentani at eighty shillings per ounce. Gold-dust has been 
found in the river Plenty^ in the bed of the stream, which consists 
chiefly of mica. Quartz sent to England for analyzation, yielded 
twenty-eight ounces of gold for each ton of ore. 

The following abstract of the report of Mr. Cameron, who was 
deputed by the local authorities at Melbourne to examine the coal region 
at Western Port, dated November, 1840, will indicate the nature of the 
mineral found at Port Phillip or in the Victoria district. 

" Upon my arrival at Western Port, I commenced to examine 
minutely the several seams of coal which presented themselves superfi- 
cially, lying to the eastward of the bay, which I found situated at such 
an angle of depression as to be wholly unworkable. 

" There were four veins of coal, which were more or less associated 
with a soapy clay, sandstone, and greystone, and which varied in thick- 
ness from one inch to nearly three feet. Upon combustion, these coals 
emitted a very strong and fierce heat, depositing heavy bases, bearing a 
yellowish tinge or cast. From the tossed and shattered appearance of 
those several veins, an indication is manifested of the close affinity of 
some extensive dyke-fault or trouble, as dislocations in the coal strata 
are technically denominated. 

" Having traced the coal measures throughout the direction of Cape 
Patterson, about twelve miles to the eastward of the port, I discovered 
various straggling open seams (termed the crops) of coal, varying in 
quality and thickness from two inches to four feet, and lying at such an 
angle as to be rendered available for mining. Here, as in Western Port/ 
the coal is associated with greystone, sandstone, &c. In some, however, 
of the veins, the coal is of excellent quality, possessing a considerable 
proportion of bitumen, which would render it especially desirable for 
the purposes of gas, for exportation to Sydney, or for consumption at the 
towns of this province hereafter, when the public convenience of gas 
shall be introduced. 

" The lofty and precipitous character of the rocks upon the coast 
exposed to view a section of strata which induced me to advance some 
miles farther than the strict line of my instructions directed. On ap- 
proaching towards that part of the coast which inclines towards Cape 
Liptrap, I found the coal strata increased in thickness and regularity \ 
but, from an accident which occurred to me at this period, whilst prose- 
cuting my researches, I was precluded from following up my observa- 
tions with a close examination. These were, nevertheless,, sufficiently 



AUSTRALIA. 31 

justificatory of my suggestion, that, in any future search for coals, this 
portion of the district should be minutely examined. The increased 
thickness and regularity of the measures strongly indicate, though not 
positively, the association of more extensive beds or seams of coal." 

Mr. Surveyor Smythe, who explored the south-east coast from Point 
Urquhart to within about fifteen miles of Cape Otway, says that exten- 
sive veins or seams of coal commence at a point thirty miles from the 
Port Phillip heads, and dip in every direction, the general bearing being 
north-northwest and south-southeast. The mineral seems to abound 
over a considerable extent of country. It is described as " in large 
seams of four feet in thickness, extending from 400 to 600 feet in length ; 
as burning well, with little or no smoke, and leaving a fine white ash, 
resembling the purest description of cannel coaj." 



32 



AUSTRALIA. 



CHAPTER III. 



AGEICULTUEE. — STAPLE PE0DUCTS. — LIVESTOCK. — WOOL. — TALLOW. — COMMEECE, 
IMPOSTS. EXPOETS. SHIPPING, ETC. 



AGRICULTURE. 

At the period of the formation of New South Wales, or during its early- 
struggles, when the colonists were again and again on the eve of perish- 
ing for want, how strangely the prophecy would have sounded in men's 
ears, could it have been foretold, that in little more than half a century, 
the colony would not only produce a sufficient quantity of animal and 
vegetable food for the support of a quarter of a million Englishmen and 
their descendants, but that Australia should have, in that short time, 
become the greatest wool-exporting country in the world ; her salubri- 
ous climate, and the pasturage of her virgin soil, rendering the increase 
of sheep and cattle so rapid, as to induce their owners to slaughter them 
in great numbers, merely for the sake of the tallow thus obtained. 

There are no consecutive details concerning the grant, sale, and cul- 
tivation of land in the colony ; some idea of the progress may be con- 
veyed by the following general statement : 



Year. 


Granted. 


Cleared or Pastured. 


Cultivated. 




Acres. 


Acres. 


Acres. 


1810 


95,637 


81,937 


13,700 


1820 


381,466 


349,195 


32,271 


1825 


673,699 


127,878 


45,514 


1828 


2.906,346 


231,578 


71,523 


1833 


4,014,117 


— 


— 


1848 


5,500,000 


— 


163,669 



AUSTKALIA. 



33 



The Quantity of Land in Cultivation, showing Crops and Produce 
(exclusive of Gardens and Orchards), in New South Wales, includ- 
ing the District of Port Philip, from the Year 1837 to 1848 inclusive. 





Crops. 




















Sown 


Total 


Year. 


















Grasses, 


Number 




Wheat. 


Maize. 


Barley. 


OalB. 


Rye. 


Millet. 


Potatoes. 


Tobacco. 


Oats, and 
Barley 


of 

Acres in 






















for Hay. 


Crop. 




Acres. 


Acres. 


Acres. 


Acres. 


Acres. 


Acres. 


Acres. 


Acres. 


Acres. 




1837 


59.975 


18,381 


2.551 


3,893 


493 


80 


1,165 


533 


5,054 


92,125 


1S38 


4S:060 


25,043 


2;922 


3,767 


429 


39 


1,788 


925 


9,939 


92,912 


1839 


48,401 


22.026 


3,490 


6,793 


483 


46 


1,115 


424 


12,534 


95,312 


1840 


74,133 


24.966 


5,144 


5,453 


609 


115 


2,594 


381 


12.721 


126,116 


1841 


58,605 


25,004 


5,423 


5,892 


495 


47 


4,027 


380 


15,257 


115,130 


1842 


65,188 


27,324 


5,320 


4,467 


486 


99 


5,174 


224 


18,592 


126,874 


1843 


78.0S3 


29,061 


5,727 


4,537 


514 


42 


5,872 


655 


21,162 


145.653 


1844 


81,903 


20.798 


7,236 


4,336 


259 


43 


6,783 


871 


21,766 


144^095 


1845 


87,894 


25.372 


10,455 


6,109 


330 


36 


5,101 


483 


27.551 


163,331 


1846 


88,910 


31,773 


9,215 


9.390 


177 


82 


5,537 


228 


37/221 


182,533 


1847 


81.044 


27,240 


7,178 


10,201 


310 


83 


5,550 


67 


33,111 


164,784 


1848 


87,219 


20,375 


8,7S9 


13,572 


167 


14 


5,774 


201 


27,558 


163,669 




Prc 


DUCE. 






Year. 






















Wheat. 


Maize. 


Barley. 


Oats- 


Rye. 


Millet. 


Potatoes. 


Tobacco. 


Hay. 




Bushels. 


Bushels. 


Bushels. 


Bushels. 


Bushels. 


Bushels. 


Tons. 


Cwts. 


Tons. 


1837 


692,620 


632,155 


51,447 


17,119 


6.753 


695 


2,102 


2,034 


5,627 


1838 


469,140 


556,268 


32,103 


13,416 


4^78 


353 


3,496 


4,952 


6.960 


1839 


805,140 


525,507 


66.033 


27,788 


7.008 


283 


2,601 


2,509 


25,923 


1840 


1,116,814 


777,947 


105,389 


66,020 


8,863 


3,338 


11,050 


4,300 


21,329 


1841 


832,776 


503,803 


90,172 


62,71)4 


6,507 


1,072 


11,141 


2,642 




1842 


854,432 


590,134 


88,767 


84,321 


4,451 


1.201 


12,561 


2,014 


18,622 


1843 


1,000,225 


719.358 


95,658 


92,268 


5,145 


410 


16,392 


6,098 


27,774 


1844 


1,312,652 


575.913 


132,612 


70.620 


4,475 


511 


22.748 


6,382 


31.848 


1845 


1,211.099 


499il22 


175,407 


88,193 


4,101 


775 


19,906 


3.985 


28.614 


1846 


1,421,750 


870,400 


193.835 


216,783 


2.250 


1,929 


18,329 


2.087 


42,754 


1847 


1,027,802 


725,704 


87,636 


221,731 


L200 


798 


14,240 


725 


33,111 


1848 


1,528,874 


262,340 


145,219 


116,643 


2,386 


158 


14,954 


3,059 


37,795 



Note.— From 1837 to 1841 the Crops and Produce of Land beyond the Boundaries of Location are 
not included. 



" To the question of how far this country is available for coloniza- 
tion, I would reply," says Dr. Leichardt, " the greatest part is fit 
for pastoral purposes, excepting only the scrubs of the east coast of 
Australia, the mountain gorges of the Upper Lynd, and the tea-tree 
scrubs of the west coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. But even here 
broad belts of fine country extend along both sides of the larger rivers. 
and will very probably be found quite as good as the country of the 
Koper. Horses and cattle will do well over the whole extent, particu- 
larly at Expedition Range, along the Isaacks, the Burdekin, the east 
coast of the gulf, and on the plains at its head. The rapid increase o 
3 



34 



AUSTEALIA. 



the buffaloes on the Coburg peninsula, and the excellent condition of 
the herd of cattle which they keep at Port Essington, show that the 
north- west coast of Australia is no less favorable for the development 
of animal life. The elevation of Peak Range, and of the table land of 
the Burdekin, leads me to believe that these regions are fit for sheep. 
I am not sufficiently acquainted with the cultivation of tropical plants 
to give a decided opinion, but there is such a variety of soil, of aspect, 
and of elevation, that I feel convinced tropical plants will grow freely 
where sufficient moisture exists. The cotton, the indigo, the cocoa-nut, 
the banana, the arrow-root, the sweet potato, the bread-fruit tree, the 
jack-fruit, the soursop, the pine-apple, the mango, and mangostine grow 
well in Port Essington ; and captain Macarthur assured me that, 
according to the statement of the Malays, who had examined the 
swamps west of the settlement, they would do excellently for growing 
rice. The large plains of the Alligator rivers would suit equally well, 
and to an almost unlimited extent." 

I cannot give a better description of the productions of the several 
localities than by the following tables ; showing the principal produc- 
tions of each district, and the demand for labor in them. This state- 
ment is compiled from returns furnished by the benches of magistrates 
in the different parts of the colony, for the first quarter of the year 
1849 ; and, although somewhat voluminous, it is too important to 
intending emigrants, and too illustrative of the condition of the various 
divisions of the territory, to be omitted, or even curtailed : — 



Districts. 



Distances 

from Sydney 

in English 

miles. 



Principal Agricultural 

and other Pro- 
ductions of the District. 



Demand for Laborers, 

and 

description of Laborers required. 



Sydney 



Western. 
Paramatta 



Windsor . 
Penrith 



34 



33 



The chief productions are 
vegetables and fruits, 



Hay, wheat, green barley. 

and maize, grapes , 

oranges, lemons, and 

vegetables. 
Wheat, maize, potatoes. 

and hay. 

Wheat, barley, maize, 
oats, potatoes, tobacco, 
hay ; grapes for mak- 
ing wine are grown to a 
considerable extent. 



The supply of mechanics and tradesmen 
is now kept up by the Colonial youths 
(sh-irp intelligent lads), who, after 
having completed their various periods 
of apprenticeship, enter the labor mar- 
ket, and are said to be clever and expert 
workmen. Farm laborers and female 
domestic servants are in request. 

There is a great demand for all sorts 
country labor. 



of 



All descriptions of country labor are in re- 
quest, and a sufficient supply cannot be 
obtained. 

Female domestic servants and general la- 
borers may readily obtain employment, 
at a fair rate of wages. Since the har- 
vest commenced there has been a great 
scarcity of labor felt in this district, and 
farm laborers can readily obtain em- 
ployment, at good wages, during the pre- 
sent i 



AUSTRALIA. 



85 



Districts. 



Distances Principal Agricultural 
from Sydney and other Pro- 

in English | ductions of the District, 
miles. 



Demand for Laborers, 

and 

description of Laborers required. 



Hartley . . . 
Bathurst . . . 

Carcoar . . . 

Frederick's Valley 

Molong .... 

Binalong . . . 
Wellington . . 
Dubbo . . . . , 



78 
113 



144 



Mudgee . . 

Southern. 
Liverpool . . , 



Campbelltown 
Camden . . 



Picton 



Western. 
Wollongong . 



Berrima 



163 

205 
230 
270 

150 
20 
33 



49 



81 



Wheat, potatoes, 
oats. 

Wheat and barley 



Wheat, barley, oats, fpo 
tatoes, hay. 



Wheat, hay, com, and 
potatoes. There has 
been an abundant croj: 
of wheat and hay, but 
the potato and the corn 
crops will be a failure 
in consequence of the 
drought. 

Wheat, corn, hay, wool 
meat, and mineral pro 
ductions. 



and There is no particular scarcity of labor in 
the district, but shepherds and farm la- 
borers are still in demand. 

There is still the same demand for ser- 
vants of the following descriptions, viz. : 
—Shepherds, hutkeepers, farm laborers, 
cooks, housemaids, and general house 
servants. Single men and women, or 
married couples without children, would 
obtain employment readily. 

Farm laborers, shepherds, hutkeepers, 
and domestic servants, particularly fe- 
male servants, are in request. They are 
not to be hired at any wages. 

Shepherds and hutkeepers are in request. 



Wheat, oats, barley, hay 
maize, potatoes. 

Wheat, maize and hay 



There is little or no agri 
culture. 



Wheat, maize, &c. 



Wheat, hay and maize. 



Hay, wheat, corn and 
butter. 

Wheat, maize, hay, and 
dairy produce. The 
culture of the vine is 
also considerable, and 
increasing yearly, A 
good many horses are 
bred, and some sheep. 



Wheat, maize, rye, oats, 
barley, hay, butter, &c. 



An additional supply of laborers of the 
following descriptions is still wanting: 
Shepherds, watchmen, stockmen, mi- 
ners, and house servants, male and fe- 
male. 

Shepherds, watchmen for sheep, agricul- 
tural laborers, blacksmiths, and house- 
servants are in demand. 

Shepherds, hutkeepers, house servants, 
and general farm servants are in re- 
quest. 

The demand for laborers of the following 
descriptions is still urgent :— carpen- 
ters, stonemasons, stockmen, hutkeep- 
ers, shepherds, sawyers, fencers, and 
farm laborers. 

Shepherds, hutkeepers, and house ser- 
vants are in demand. 

Female house servants are in great de- 
mand. They are not procurable in the 
district. 

Farm and domestic servants, male and fe- 
male, are in urgent demand. 

This district is amply supplied with me- 
chanics, but there is a scarcity of the 
other kinds of labor. Wnges are deci- 
dedly on the rise. From the abundance 
of fertile land, and the proximity to the 
Sydney market, this district affords an 
opening for the comfortable settlement 
of a dense population. During the last 
five years the number of inhabitants has 
doubled itself. There are also ample 
means for public worship, religious in- 
struction, and education. 

All descriptions of country laborers are in 
request, chiefly general farm servants,. 
such as ploughmen, laborers, gardeners, 
milkmen, mowers, and tbatchers. 



Wheat, maize, oats, bar- Steady, sober, and honest agricultural la- 
ley, potatoes, hay, and 
butter. 



Wheat, oats, barley, po- 
tatoes, hay, and all 
descriptions of English 
grain. 



borers and milkmen are much wanted 
in this district ; also, female servants. 
Agricultural labor only is in request. 
Farm laborers and domestic servants are 
in request. 



36 



AUSTRALIA. 



Districts. 



Kiama 



Bungonia 



Marulan 



Goulbourn 



Braid wood 
Shoalhaven 



Ctooma 



Eden 



f Q,ueanbeyan 
Yass . . . 



'Tumut 



*Gundagai 



*Wagga Wagga 



Distances 

from Sydney 

in English 

miles. 



108 



1G4 
103 



209 



251 



253 



182 
179 

225 



244 



Principal Agricultural 

and other Pro- 
ductions of the District. 



Demand for Laborers, 

and 

description of Laborers required. 



Wheat, maize, oats, bar- 
ley, potatoes, cheese, 
butter, honey, beef, and 
pork. 

Wheat, barley, oats, hay, 
maize, potatoes, cheese, 
and butter. 



Wheat, barley, oats, hay, 
maize, potatoes, butter, 
and cheese. 

Wheat, oats, maize, bar- 
ley, and potatoes. 

All kinds of grain. 

Wheat, maize, potatoes, 
and dairy produce. 

Wheat and potatoes, prin- 
cipally with maize, bar- 
ley, and oats. 



Wheat, barley, polatoes, 
and oaten hay. There 
is a good supply of the 
above this season, with 
the exception of the 
potatoes. 

Wool and tallow; little 
or no grain of any de- 
scription ; potatoes and 
hay are the only arti- 
cles of farm produce 
raised. 

Wheat, barley, potatoes, 
maize, and hay. 

Wheat, maize, oats, bar 
ley, potatoes, fruits, ve 
getables, hay. 

Wheat, oats, hay, maize, 
and potatoes. 



Wheat, maize, potatoes 
and hay. 



Wheat, oaten hay, maize, 
in limited quantity ; po- 
tatoes to a limited ex- 
tent ; wool and tallow. 
The soil, however, is 
capable of producing, 
in luxuriance, every' 
description of crop by 
the medium of ordinary 
industry. Fruits of all 
kinds thrive well ; and 
the vine, which has 
been latterly introduc- 
ed, promises to rank 
amongst our principal 
products. 



Farm and house servants, and milkmen 
are in request. 



Laborers of the following description are 
in request ;— carpenters, wheelwrights, 
and blacksmiths; shepherds, farm labor- 
ers, and house servants, especially 
females. 

Carpenters, wheelwrights, stonecutters, 
watchmen, and cooks, shepherds, labor- 
ers, house servants, especially females, 
are in request. 

Shepherds, farm and domestic servants, 
both male and female, are in request. 

All kinds of country labor are in request. 

Laborers are very scarce and wages high 
in consequence. Agricultural laborers 
and dairymen are most in request. 

Farm laborers and female servants of all 
work are in request. It is impossible to 
procure female servants, in particular 
general house servants. There are no 
farm laborers to be got. In harvest, or 
any other hurried time, the small settlers 
are obliged to assist each other. 

Good house servants and shepherds are in 
demand, and would readily find employ- 
ment in this district. The labor in re- 
quest is chiefly that required for pastoral 
and agricultural purposes. 

Shepherds, stockmen, and hutkeepers, art 
in request. 



Domestic servants of all descriptions are 
much required in this district. 

Laborers and servants of every description 
are in great request, and improvements 
are lying over for want of them. 

The operations of the settlers are com- 
pletely paralysed for want of labor. 
Children from eight years of age to six- 
teen are engaged at wages from £12 to 
£20 per annum. The laborers wanted are 
shepherds, hutkeepers, farm and house 
servants, laundresses, housemaids, and 
nursemaids. 

Labor of every description is much want- 
eel. Wages are very little, if any, lower 
than last quarter. The principal de- 
mand is for stockmen, shepherds, hut- 
keepers, watchmen, agricultural labor- 
ers, and domestics. A few mechanics 
would meet with constant employment. 

The employers of labor in this district are 
all complaining of the very high rate of 
wages, and improvements of every kind 
are neglected in consequence. Were 
wages low and labor abundant, the set- 
tlers here could give employment to at 
least 500 fresh male laborers every year. 
There is now a demand in the district 
for carpenters, smiths, wheelwrights, 
sawyers, brickmakers, shepherds, agri- 
cultural laborers, and domestic servants, 
male and female. 



AUSTRALIA. 



Districts. 



Alb my . . . 
Mouiamein . 



Northern. 
Brisbane Water 



Distances 

from Sydney 

in English 

miles. 



379 

400 



30 



Macdonald River . 
Wollombi .... 
Newcastle . . . 

Raymond Terrace . 



Port Stephens 
Dungog . . 

Paterson . . 

Maitland . . 



Singleton . . 

Muswellbook 
Merton . . . 
Scone . . ■ 



66; 

93 

70 

85 



91 
150 



131 



124 

156, 

170' 
182 



Principal Agricultural 

and other Pro- 
ductions of the District. 



Wheat, maize, oats, bar- 
ley, grass, and oaten 
hay, potatoes, &c. 

Sheep, cattle, and wool. 
No agricultural pro- 
ductions. 



'Maize, potatoes, onions 
| also, oranges, grapes 
and other fruit. 



Demand 'for Laborers, 

and 

description of Laborers required. 



Wheat, maize, barley, 

j and potatoes. 

■ Wheat, maize, potatoes, 

| hay, grapes, &c. 

Maize, wheat, barley, oat- 
en hay, and lucerne, po- 
tatoes, beef, pork, poul- 
try, butter, cheese, salt, 
cloth, leather, fruit, and 
wine. 

Wheat, maize, oats, bar- 
ley, potatoes. 

Wheat, maize, potatoes, 
hay, tobacco, cheese, 
butter, bacon, hams, 
hides. 

Wheat, maize, barley, 
millet, potatoes, tobac- 
co, cheese, hay, fruit, 
and wine. 

Wheat, maize, oats, bar- 
ley, potatoes, hay, to- 
bacco, fruits of all 
kinds. 



Wheat, maize, hay, to- 
bacco, and grapes. 

Wheat, maize, and hay. i 

It is not, generally speak- 
ing, an "agricultural dis- 
trict, there are several 
vineyards. 



Shepherds, watchmen, agricultural labor- 
ers, and female domestic servants, are 
in request. 

There is an ample field for shepherds, hut- 
keepers, and others who will make them- 
selves useful about sheep-stations. The 
most helpless will find employment if 
he has only the use of his limbs and 
legs. The present demand is for shep- 
herds, hutkeepers, and bush carpenters. 

The demand for labor has been gradually 
increasing since the commencement of 
1845, and many people would hire men 
if they could get them. The sum given 
to a laboring man does not, by any 
means, indicate the amount really paid 
by the employer for efficient service. 
There is abundant employment in the 
district for men who work by the job in 
the bush, chiefly on their own account, 
as sawyers and splitters, and who either 
sell their produce on the spot, or send it 
to Sydney ; consequently, some of the 
best workmen are at work on their own 
account, and most of tho.*e employed on 
farms are in some way inefficient, which 
increases their wages virtually from 10 
to 20 per cent, or more, by reason of the 
labor performed by them being below 
the average quantity or quality. The 
want of labor and high wages still ope- 
rate in limiting the cultivation of land. 
We think that vineyards (for which the 
soil is, in many places, well adapted) 
would be extended if labor was not so 
high. 

There is a great demand for general agri- 
cultural laborers in this district. 

Male and female farm and domestic ser- 
vants are in great demand. 

Agricultural laborers and female servants 
are in request. 



Shepherds, domestic servants, male and 

female. 
Farm laborers, bullock drivers, stockmen, 

wheelwrights, splitters, and fencers are 

in request. 

Agricultural laborers and house servants 
are in request. 



A slight reduction has taken place since 
the arrival of immigrants, but the de- 
mand for useful laborers of the following 
descriptions is still urgent :— Males— la- 
borers of all sorts, farm laborers, and 
shepherds. Females— house-servants of 
all work, cooks and laundresses. 

Agricultural, pastoral, and domestic ser- 
vants are in request. 

Domestic servants are much wanted ; shep- 
herds and laborers are also in request. 

The difficulty in obtaining labor is very 
great, and the amount"demanded, as 
wages, is ruinous to the proprietors. 
The immigration of the past year ha3 
not at all affected the price of labor in 
this district. Shepherds and farm ser- 
vants are most in request. 



38 



AUSTKALIA. 



Districts. 



Murrurundi . 

Cassilis . . 

WeeWaa . . 

Tamworth . 

Warialda . - 



Port Maquarie 
M'Leay River 



Northern. 
Wellingrove . 



Armidale . 
Tenterfield 



Tabulam . . 
Grafton . . . 



Canning Downs 



Warwick . 



Drayton 



Brisbane 



Ipswich . 



Distance 

from Sydney 

in English 

miles. 



200 
335 
250 
264 

280 



278 
250 



330 



334 
334 



280 



390 



406 



450 



470 



Principal Agricultural 

and other Pro- 
ductions of the District. 



Wheat, maize, potatoes, 

and wool. 
Wool and hay. 

Wool and fat stock. 

Wheat and maize. 



Wheat and maize, but in 
quantities so very small 
as to be of no import- 
ance. 



Wheat, hay, maize,' and 
potatoes. 

Maize, wheat, a few pota- 
toes, and a small quan- 
tity of tobacco. 



Wheat, potatoes, and 
corn. 



Wheat, barley, oats, 
maize, and potatoes. 

Wheat, maize, and po- 
tatoes, for local con- 
sumption ; also, wool 
and tallow for expor- 
tation. 

Maize and potatoes . . 

Wool, tallow, maize 



Maize, potatoes, wool, 
tallow. 



Wool and tallow 



Maize 



The vegetable produc- 
tions are chiefly maize, 
potatoes, and garden 
stuff, a very little oats 
for hay. 

Wool and tallow . . . 



Demand for Laborers, 

and 

Description of Laborers required. 



All kinds of country labor are in request. 

Shepherds and watchmen are principally 
in request. 

Shepherds, hutkeepers, stockmen, and 
country mechanics are in request. 

The demand for labor in the district is on 
the increase, and likely to continue so. 
The descriptions required are shepherds, 
stockmen, hutkeeepers, farm laborers, 
and blacksmiths. 

The recent immigration has not yet exer- 
cised any perceptible influence on the 
rate of wages in this district ; the de- 
mand for labor still exceeds the supply 
to such an extent, as to occasion great 
loss and inconvenience to employers. 
Shepherds, bullock-drivers, house ser- 
vants, and laborers of every description 
are in request. 

Farm laborers, shepherds, and house ser- 
vants are in request. Female servants 
are much wanted. 

There is a demand for labor in the district, 
to which the supply is not equal, and a 
number of laborers of the undermen- 
tioned descriptions would find imme- 
diate employment at remunerating rates 
— stockmen, farm laborers, and bullock- 
drivers ; and a few single females as 
general house servants. 

Aft hough wages are about jE3 to £1 less, 
it can only be effected by great risk in 
the increase of numbers of the flocks, 
occasional employment of blacks, and 
thus standing out against the exorbitant 
wages asked, waiting any opportunity 
to replace those who will not take 
any reduction. The most urgent de- 
mand is for shepherds. 

Shepherds, watchmen, laborers, and me- 
chanics are in request. 

Shepherds are most wanted, but farm la- 
borers and mechanics are also in re- 
quest. 



Shepherds, hutkeepers, and stockmen 
are in request. 

Great scarcity of shepherds, stockmen, 
farm laborers, bullock-drivers, and 
house servants. Good house servants 
are not to be obtained. 

Many hundreds would find employment. 
Shepherds, watchmen, joiners, carpen- 
ters, smiths, agricultural laborers, and 
domestic servants of both sexes. 

Shepherds, watchmen, fencers, carpen- 
ters, blacksmiths, wheel wrights, agri- 
cultural laborers, and domestic ser- 
vants, of both sexes, are in request. 
Many hundreds would find employ, 
ment. 

The demand for laborers, shepherds, and 
domestic servants is great, and large 
numbers would find immediate em- 
ployment. 

Stockmen and shepherds are in request. 



Stockmen, shepherds, bullock-drivers, 
and hutkeepers are the descriptions of 
laborers in request. 



AUSTEALIA. 
Victoria, or Port Phillip. 



39 



Districts. 



Melbourne . 



Western Port . 



Portland 



Geelong . . 



Murray . . 
Gipps Land 



Principal Agricultural 

and other Pro- 
ductions of the District. 



Wheat, oats, potatoes, 
barley, vegetables of 
all sorts in abundance. 

Wheat, oats, potatoes, 
and maize. 



Wheat, oats, hay, vege- 
table, wool, hides, tal- 
low, black oil, black 
cattle, and sheep. 

Wheat, barley, oats, po- 
tatoes, and all kinds 
of vegetables. 



All kinds of grain . . 

Grain, wool, and fat 

stock for exportation. 



Demand for Laborers, and description of Laborers 
required. 



Most parts of the district are still requiring laborers; 
the city and vicinity a little better supplied than 
heretofore, in consequence of late arrivals of immi- 
grants. All kinds of labor required. 

There is still ample room for any number of immi- 
grants likely to arrive ; but single men and young 
married people without many children are generally 
preferred in the bush. Shepherds and farm ser- 
vants are the descriptions of laborers in request. 

The scarcity of labor was never more severely felt. 



The families of mechanics exceeding three, without 
adults, may probably meet with difficulties on their 
arrival. Domestic servants, farm servants, and 
shepherds, are in request. 

Agricultural and pastoral laborers are in request. 
Shepherds, stockmen, and farm laborers are in re- 
quest. 



Of the productiveness of the Australian soils, there cannot be a 
•doubt. Many farms have been annually cropped for twenty years with- 
out manuring ; the eucalypti trees, by shedding their bark, annually 
furnish an ample supply of alkalies to the soil, which has a degree of 
softness, coherence, and porosity, common to all virgin soils ; a low spe- 
cific gravity, and a proportion of organic to inorganic matter, amounting 
to a third, and in some instances to a half of the whole quantitj r . The 
numerous places where carbonic acid gas escapes through the fissures of 
the earth in New South Wales, cause many of the rivers, particularly 
near their source, to be impregnated with this acid, and they are also 
charged with mineral salts. In frequent instances the waters of the 
colony pass through calcareous rocks, and carry with them dissolved 
lime; they are therefore very valuable for irrigation, which may be most 
extensively and usefully practised in Australia. Any one who has 
visited Malta, and seen the rich crops produced on an apparent barren 
sandstone formation, by irrigation, will recognize the great benefits 
which New South Wales would derive from pursuing the same course. 

Mr. J. Pattison, a resident of twelve years' experience in New South 
Wales, and the author of a recent brochure on its resources and capa- 
bilities, says the country is capable of sustaining many millions of peo- 
ple by its agricultural products; for " there is abundance of land of the 
richest description." Speaking of the qualities of the soil, he says : — 
a The produce, under a good system of husbandry, is enormous, and 



40 



AUSTRALIA. 



would stagger the credibility of those who have not been eve-witnesses. 
The late Dr. Wilson, R, N., obtained, at his estate in the county of Mur- 
ray, eighty-five bushels of wheat per acre ; and at Narren Gallen, near 
Yass, on the estate of Cavan, I have seen 700 bushels reaped from a 
field of fourteen acres, or equal to fifty bushels per acre."* 



WINE AND BRANDY. 

The number of acres planted with the vine, and the produce thereof, 
on the 31st of March, 1849, was as follows: — 



Counties. 


Acres. 


Wine. 


Brandy. 


SYDNEY DISTRICT:— 


Gallons. 


Gallons-. 


Argyle ...... 


7 


50 


— 


Bat hurst ...... 


4 


450 


— 


Bligh 


3i 


74 


— 


Brisbane . . . . . 


79 


4,467 


4 


Camden ...... 


60 


21,350 


260 


Cook 


24 


330 


— 


Cumberland ..... 


259 


17,413 


352 


Durham . . . . . . 


162 


29,808 


75* 


Georgiana 


— 


— 


— 


Gloucester 


82 


4,045 


72 


Hunter ...... 


m 


957 


— 


King ...... 


6 


25 


25 


Macquarie ...... 


22 


4,300 


280 


Murray ...... 


H 


30 


— 


Northumberland 


112 


11,001 


95 


Phillip ...... 


n 


180 


— 


Roxburgh ...... 


25 


2,560 


— 


St. Vincent 


— 


— 


— 


Stanley ...... 


21 


— 


— 


Wellington 


— 


— 





Westmoreland 


Of 


— 


— 


Beyond settled District 


11 


260 


— 


Total in 1848 


887 


97,300 


1,163 


kC in 1844 . 


508 


33,915 


751 


PORT PHILLIP DISTRICT :— 








Bourke ...... 


57 


-i_ 


— 


Grant 


48 


6,000 


100 


Normanby ...... 


3 

108 


306 


— 


Total 


6,308 


100 


General Total in 1848 . 


995 


103,606 


1,263 



* New South Wales : its past, present and future condition ; with notes upon its 
Resources and Capabilities. London, published by Johnson & Hunter, 1849 — p. 90. 



AUSTRALIA. 



41 



The progressive increase of Live Stock in New South Wales is thus 
shown : — 



Years. 


Horses. 


1 Horned Cattle. 


Sheep. 


Pigs or Swine. 


1788 


7 


7 


29 


1 


1810 


1,114 


11,276 


34.550 


1 


1820 


4,014 


68,149 


119,777 


}■ No returns. 


1825 


6,142 


134,519 


337.622 


1 


1828 


12,479 


262,868 


536,391 


J 


1848 


113,895 


| 1,752,852 


11,660,819 


70,875 



Such a rapid augmentation in the number of domesticated animals 
is unexampled in the history of any country, and would have been yet 
more remarkable but for the extensive slaughtering of horned cattle and 
sheep to obtain tallow. Live Stock has become a staple export of Aus- 
tralia. Horses are shipped in large numbers to the East Indies, their 
southern origin fitting them pre-eminently for that tryiDg climate. 

Live Stock Exported from Neiv South Wales and Port Phillip. 



Year. 


Horses. 


Asses and 
Mules. 


Horned 
Cattle. 


Sheep. 


Hogs. 


Value. 


1843 


248 


2 


1,852 


77,116 


, 


£41.915 


1844 


489 


3 


3.329 


53,318 


— 


40,394 


1845 


1,159 


— 


3,972 


33,651 


6 


53.438 


1846 


1.021 


— 


6.052 


37,848 


4 


52,942 


1847 


466 


— 


8,034 


71,440 


— 


57,355 


1848 


1.182 


— 


16.904 


895.211 


— 


85,184 



The extensive herds of cattle will naturally cause a large increase in 
the hide and leather trade. The colonists have also turned their atten- 
tion to the curing of animal food, which now forms a valuable item in 
their staple products. 

The following table shows the quantity and value of salt meat ex- 
ported from, and the value of salt meat imported into, the colony in the 
under-mentioned years :— - 



42 



AUSTBALIA. 



Year. 


Beef, Pork, and Mutton. 


Mutton and Bacon 
Hams. 


Tongues. 




Quantity. 


Quantity. 


Quantity. 


1843 ■ 


>' 2,867 casks ) 
► 856i tons \ 


— 


224 lbs. 


1844 ■ 


I 4,292 casks i 
294|- tons \ 

{ 1,142 casks "] 
425£ tons 

345 packages \ 
4,400 lbs. preserved j 


20,615 \ 


110 cwt. ) 
150 in No. ( 


1845 < 


94 cwt. 
11,422 in No. 


63 casks ) 
2,450 in No. $ 




meats J 








f 721 casks 1 






1846 « 


1,126 tons 1 


39 cwt. 


12 casks ) 
300 in No. $ 


12 packages of j 
preserved meats J 


300 in No. 










> 4,335 casks \ 






1847 < 


866 tons 

224 packages of j 
preserved meats J 


224 cwt. 


127 










? 23,08 casks ^ 






1 848 < 


615 tons > 

90 casks of pre- j 

served meats J 


145 cwt. 


'228 



The origin, progress, and the production of wool, deserves especial 
notice, from the material share it has had in the growing prosperity of 
Australian commerce, and moreover for its beneficial influence on the 
manufactures of the mother country. There can scarcely be a doubt, 
that the extensive growth of wool in Australia, and the reduction of 
price in German and Spanish wools, have had a most important effect 
on the woollen manufactures of England, and enabled her to maintain a 
competition with foreign countries. 

In 1829, the quantity of foreign wools imported into England was 
21,118,976 lbs. ; of which 1,838,642 lbs., or about one-tivelfth part came 
from the Australian colonies. The importations for the year 1834 were 
45,647,870 lbs. of which the Australian colonies sent 3,558,091 lbs. or 
less than one-tenth. In 1848 the total quantity of wool imported into 
the United Kingdom was 69,343,477 lbs. ; of this Australia furnished 
30,034,567 lbs., in the following proportions: — New South Wales and 
Port Phillip, 22,091,481 lbs. ; Van Dieman's Island, 4,955,968 ; South 
Australia, 2.762,672; Western Australia, 129,295; and New Zealand, 
95,151 lbs. The colonies in the Southern Pacific, therefore, contributed 
nearly one-half of the whole wool imported in the year 1848. The 
proportions of colonial to foreign wool imported for twenty years, be- 



AUSTRALIA. 



43 



tween 1826 and 1846, at intervals of five years, is thus shown; the two 
figures represent so many million lbs. weight ; by colonial wool is un- 
derstood all wool from possessions of the British crown : — 



Annual Averases 


Foreisn 


Colonial 


Total 


of Five Years. 


Wool. 


Wool. 


Importation. 


1826—30 


25 


2 


27 


1831—35 


34 


4 


38 


1836—40 


44 


10 


54 


1841—45 


36 


22 


58 


1846 


34 


30 


64 


1848 


40 


29 


69 



The year 1850 would be still better in behalf of Australia ; and let 
it be remembered that in 1826, the proportion of colonial to foreign wool 
was only the tivo hundred and fiftieth part of the annual imports into 
England. In the year 1850, the number of fine-woolled sheep in Aus- 
tralia was 12,000,000, and yielded about 25,000,000 lbs. of wool, and in- 
creasing in this ratio, it may fairly be expected that the produce within 
the next five years, will be at least 50,000,000 lbs. annually. 

Tallow promises to form nearly as valuable an article of export as 
wool. 

The extent to which the slaughtering and melting down system has 
been carried, is shown in the following statement of the quantity of tal- 
low and lard produced in New South Wales in 1 848 : — 



Niomber of Boiling-doivn Establishments, Cattle, Sheep, Sfc., slaughtered, 
and Talloio and Lard produced. 





Sydney, 


Sydney, 


Port 




Number of 


within the 


without the 


Phillip 


Total. 




settled Dis. 


settled Dis. 


District. 




Establishments 


41 


14 


7 


62 


Sheep . . . 


141,573 


24,128 


120,691 


286.392 


Horned Cattle . 


27,682 


5,415 


5,545 


38,642 


Tallow, cwts. . 


49,311 


11,5*0 


27,725 


88.567 


Hop;s .... 


23 


33 


2 


58 


Lard, cwts. . . 


875 


990 


200 


2,065 



44 



AUSTRALIA. 



Commerce. 

The maritime commerce of Australia was for many years in a very 
unsatisfactory state. The imports were in value about five times that 
of the exports ; and the balance of payments in exchange, was defrayed 
by bills on the Treasury in London, to meet the convict expenditure in 
the colony. There were then few exportable articles, and it was feared 
that no staple products available for transmission to England could be 
created. By extraordinary energy these difficulties have been sur- 
mounted. There is now no convict expenditure from the Home Trea- 
sury, and an examination of the annexed complete returns of the value 
of imports and exports for the last 20 years will show that they are now 
balanced, the one against the other. 



Imjoorts into Neiv South Wales and Port Phittij 


?, 1828 to 1848. 


Year. 


From 


From British 


From South 


From 


Froin United 


From other 


Total. 




Great Britain. 


Colonies. 


Sea Islands. 


Fisheries. 


States. 


Foreign States. 




1823 


£399.892 


£125,862 





£44,246 


_ 





£570,000 


1829 


423,463 


135,486 


— 


42,055 


— 


— 


601,004 


1830 


263.935 


60.356 


— 


91,189 


— 


— 


420.480 


1831 


241.989 


68.804 


— 


179,359 


— 


— 


490.152 


1832 


409,344 


47,895 


— 


147,381 


— 


— 


604^20 


1833 


434,220 


61,662 


— 


218,090 


— 


— 


713,972 


1834 


669,663 


124,570 


— 


197,757 


— 


— 


991,990 


1835 


707,183 


144,824 


£1.420 


177,365 


£13,902 


• £70,161 


1,114,805 


1836 


794,422 


220.254 


li972 


135,730 


22,739 


62,289 


1,237,406 


1837 


807.264 


300,313 


1,764 


80,441 


9,777 


97,932 


1,297,491 


1838 


1,102,127 


309,918 


5,548 


71,506 


8,066 


82,112 


1,579,277 


1839 


1,251,969 


576,537 


3,863 


186,212 


23.093 


194,697 


2,236,371 


1840 


2,200.305 


431,146 


1,343 


104,895 


24,164 


252,331 


3,014,189 


1841 


1,837,369 


332,296 


24,361 


97,809 


35,282 


200,871 


2,527,988 


1842 


854,774 


293,201 


10,020 


64,999 


20,117 


206,948 


1,455,059 


1843 


1,034,942 


227.029 


22,387 


42,579 


12,041 


211,566 


1,550,544 


1844 


643,419 


153,923 


10,624 


32,507 


17,187 


73,600 


931,260 


1845 


777.112 


237,759 


40,048 


43,503 


7,416 


128,016 


1,233,354 


1846 


1,119,301 


262,943 


21,799 


56,461 


4,459 


165,559 


1,630,522 


1847 


1,347,241 


333,724 


6,919 


41,557 


1,550 


195,032 


1,982,023 


1848 
1849 


1,034,054 


263,787 


2.642 


73,715 


2,065 


130,287 


1,556,550 



AUSTRALIA. 



45 



Exports from New South Wales and Port Phillip, 1828 to 1848. 



Year. 


To 


To British 


To South Sea 


To 


» 


To other 


Total. 




Great Britain. 


Colonies. 


Islands. 


Fisheries. 


'.United States. 


Foreign States. 




1S2S 


£84,003 


£4,845 


_ 


£6,70S 


_ 





£90,050 


1829 


146,283 


12,692 


— 


15,821 


— 


— 


161,716 


1S30 


120,559 


15,597 


— 


— 


— 


— 


141,461 


1831 


211,138 


60.354 


— 


16,949 


— 


— 


324,168 


1832 


252.106 


63,934 


— 


19,545 


— 


— 


384,344 


1833 


269,508 


67,344 


— 


— 


— 


— 


394,801 


1834 


K 400,738 


128.211 


— 


28,729 


— 


— 


587,640 


1835 


496,345 


83.108 


£2.696 


39,882 


£18,594 


£3,011 


682,193 


1836 


513,976 


[136,596 


9,628 


30,180 


13,697 


2,625 


748,624 


1887 


518,951 


157,975 


485 


54,434 


10,617 


17,592 


760,864 


1838 


583.154 


160,640 


7,137 


33.988 


11,324 


6.525 


802,768 


1839 


597,100 


289.857 


1,347 


34,729 


18,568 


7,175 


948,776 


1840 


792,494 


520,210 


6,621 


27.864 


27,885 


24,618 


1,399,692 


1841 


706,336 


238,948 


13,144 


18,417 


4,837 


41,715 


1,023.397 


1842 


685,705 


298,023 


3,005 


22,862 


17,101 


40,715 


1,067,411 


1S43 


825,885 


285,756 


17,934 


18,827 


— 


23,918 


1,172,320 


1844 


854,903 


236,352 


14,106 


11,623 


— 


11,131 


1,128,115 


1845 


1,254,881 


276,78S 


17,656 


1,593 


— 


5,063 


1,555,986 


1846 


1,130,179 


328,922 


13,441 


590 


— 


8,407 


1,481,539 


1847 


1,503,091 


335,137 


14,231 


— 


— 


17,587 


1,870.046 


1848 
1849 


1,483,224 


335,887 


6,944 


" 


" 


4.313 


1,830,368 



The relative proportion of the shipping engaged in the trade of Syd- 
ney, New South Wales, and of Melbourne, Port Phillip, is thus shown 
by the tonnage entering inwards from Great Britain, the British Colo- 



nies, and elsewhere, in 1848 : — 









From British Colonies. 










From 

other 

Foreign 

States. 








Britain. 


New 
Zealand. 


Elsewhere. 


South Sea 
Islands. 


Fisheries. 


United 
States. 


Total. 


Sydney . . 
Port Philip 


No. 

71 

48 


Tons. No. 
34.309 106 
23,295 10 


Tons. 

23,877 

956 


No. 
232 
406 


Tons. 
45,173 
42,349 


No. 
23 


Tons. 
2,695 


No. 
63 


Tons. 

17,473 


No. 

1 


Tons. 
406 


No. 
30 
5 


Tons. 

7,753 
1,018 


No. 
.32? 
469 


Tons. 

131,686 
67,618 


Total . 


119 


57,604 116 


24,883 


639 


87,522 


23 


2,695 


63 


17,473 


1 


406 


35 


8,771 


996 


199,300 



SHIPPING. 



The increase of the shipping entering the ports of New South Wales 
has been very great since 1828 : 



46 



AUSTRALIA. 



Year. 


Number. 


Tons. 


1828 


137 


32,559 


1829 


158 


37,342 


1830 


157 


31,225 


1831 


155 


34,000 


1832 


189 


36,020 


1833 


210 


50,144 


1834 


245 


58,532 


1835 


260 


63,019 


1836 


269 


65,415 


1837 


400 


80,114 


1838 


428 


91,777 


1839 


560 


135,474 


1840 


709 


178,958 


1841 


714 


183,778 


1842 


628 


143,921 


1843 


558 


110,864 


1844 


417 


87,539 


1845 


597 


105,352 


1846 


767 


141,467 


1847 


878 


154,904 


1848 


996 


199,304 



In twenty years, the number of ships increased seven-fold, and the 
tonnage six-fold. Since 1848, the shipping and trade of the colony 
have been very largely augmented. 

The number and tonnage of vessels built and registered in the colony 
have been : 



Year. 


Vesse 


s Built. 


Vessels Registered. 




Number. 


Tons. 


Number. 


Tons. 


1834 


9 


376 


19 


1,852 


1835 


7 


303 


21 


2,267 


1836 


9 


301 


39 


4,560 


1837 


17 


760 


36 


3,602 


1838 


20 


808 


41 


6,329 


1839. 


12 


773 


79 


10,862 


1840 


18 


1,207 


98 


12,426 


1841 


35 


2,074 


110 


11,250 


1842 


26 


1,357 


89 


9,948 


1843 


47 


1,433 


92 


7,022 


1844 


18 


519 


87 


8,087 


1845 


18 


1,042 


98 


9,376 


1846 


28 


1,032 


83 


4,895 


1847 


36 


2,284 


104 


9,428 


1848 


28 


1,561 


103 


7,584 



AUSTKALIA. 



47 



The numbers respectively built and registered during 1 848 in the 
Sydney and Port Phillip districts, were — 



District. 


Ships 


Built. 


Registered. 


Sydney, 

Port Phillip, - 


No. 

26 

2 


Tons. 

1,281 

280 


No. 

87 
16 


Tons. 

6,618 
966 


Men. 

336 

80 


Total. 


28 


1,562 


103 


7,584 


416 



The ports of Australia, Van Dieman's Island, and New Zealand, 
(i. e., Australasia.) are favorably situated for carrying on the whale 
fishery in the southern hemisphere. Since 1845, whalers have been ex- 
empted from port charges in Sydney ; and the value of the fisheries in 
eighteen years is thus shown : 



Year. 


Sperm 
Whale. 


Black 
Whale. 


Whalebone. 


Seal Skins. 


Value. 




Tuns. 


Tuns. 


Tons. 


Cwts. 


Quantity. 




1828 


348 


50 


— 


— 


7,647 in number 


— 


1829 


885 


— 


— 


— 


12,350 


£94,101 


1830 


1,282 


518 


— 


— 


5.460 " 


115.780 


1831 


1.914 


1,004 


— 


— 


4,972 


— 


1833 


3,183 


420 


— 


— 


2.465 


169,278 


1836 


1.700 


1,178 


— 


— 


386 


126,085 


1837 


2.559 


1.565 


77 


— 


107 


183,122 


1838 


1.891 


3,055 


174 


— 


3 cases 


197,644 


1839 


1,578 


1.229 


134 


14 


7 " 


172,315 


1840 


1,854 


4.297 


250 


— 


474 in number 


224,144 


1841 


1.545 


1,018 


84 


13 


41 


127,470 


1842 


957 


1,171 


60 


5 


162 


77,012 


1843 


1,115 


190 


22 


8 


155 


72,989 


1844 


810 


526 


15 


18 


3 bales 


57,493 


1845 


1,352 


571 


21 


13 


2 casks, 10 
Skins 


96,804 


1846 


1,064 


344 


17 


9 


— 


70,126 


1847 


1,214 


331 


8 


3f 


— 


80,528 


1848 


1,186 


196 


11 


2 


4 cases 


68,969 



The number of ships engaged in the whale fishery in 1848, in con- 
nection with New South Wales, was 64 ; viz., 37 foreign ; 3 British ; 24 
colonial ; and the produce — sperm oil, 1,274 tuns, value £67,005 ; black 
oil, 389 tuns, £9,180; whalebone, 306 tons, £1,472. Total value— 
£77,652. At Port Phillip there were four boats engaged, which col- 
lected 15^ tuns of oil, value £235 ; whalebone, 6 tons 6 cwt. 



48 



AUSTEALIA. 



CHAPTER IV. 

STATE OF SOCIETY. — EAPID IMPKOVEMENT AMONG- THE POPULATION, ETC. 

It has been before stated that the colony of New South Wales, the 
first settled portion of Australia, was established as a penal colony in 
1787, but the progression of society there has been most satisfactory. 

The early censuses are said to be incomplete. The increase has 
been as follows : — 



Year. 


Population. 


Year. 


Population. 


1788 
1810 
1821 

1828 


1,033 
10,452 
29,783 
36.598 


1833 
1836 
1841 

1846 


60,861 

77,096 

120,856 

154,534 



The estimate to 31st December, 1848, is 220,474. The number of 
inhabitants (including the Port Phillip district), was, independent of 
the late influx, estimated at a quarter of a million. 

The progressive augmentation of the female population will be per- 
ceived from the following table ; this did not arise solely from female 
emigration, but from the large proportion of female to male births — a 
proportion which I, says Mr. Martin, observed in Australia pervaded 
the whole range of domestic animals. It seems to be a law of popula- 
tion, that where there is room in a new country, and the command to 
" increase and multiply' 1 is not perverted by polygamy, there is always 
a larger proportion of female than male births ; but in an old-established 
country, fully peopled, a check is put to an injurious increase by a 
greater proportion of male than female births. 

In a return laid before the Legislative Council of New South Wales 
by the able colonial secretary, Mr. Deas Thompson, on the 12th June, 
1849, and by Mr. Mansfield's analysis of 1841, the increase of the popu- 
lation, male and female, since 1821, is thus shown : — 



AUSTRALIA. 



49 





Adults. 












Children. 






Males. 


Females. 






1821 


21.693 


8.090 1 




29.783 


1828 
1833 


27,611 
44.638 


8,987 ! 
16.173 f 


Not separated. 


36,598 
60,861 


1836 


87.298 


43.558 J 




130.856 


1839 


63,784 


21,998 


28.604 


114,386 


1840 


70.021 


25.476 


33.966 


129.463 


1841 


75.474 


33.546 


40.649 


149.669 


1842 


76,528 


35.762 


47.599 


159.889 


1843 


76,147 


35.474 


53,920 


165.541 


1844 


74,912 


36,170 


62.295 


173.377 


1845 


74.951 


36.223 


70,382 


181,556 


1846 


82.847 


42.287 


71.570 


196.704 


1847 


83.572 


41.809 


79,628 


205,009 


1848 


86,302 


44,562 


89,610 


220,474 



CENSUS OF MARCH, 



1851. 



By this census (the latest that has been taken) the population in the 
different colonies of Australia was thus given : — 



New South Wales 
Port Phillip or Victoria 
South Australia or Adelaide 
Swan River or Western Australia 
Aborigines . - 



Total 



200,000 
70,000 
70,000 
10,000 
30,000 

380,000 



IN THE CITIES. 

Included in the above the following was the population of the cities : 



Sydney, New South Wales 
Melbourne, Victoria 
Adelaide. South Australia 



60,000 
25,000 
14,000 



Until another authentic census shall have been taken, it is scarcely 
possible to form an opinion of the present number of inhabitants, resi- 
dent and denizen, in the two first mentioned colonies, of which we are 
more particularly treating, since the influx to the ports of Melbourne, 
Port Phillip, and Sydney, cannot be accurately estimated. Some idea 
4 



50 AUSTEALIA. 

may be formed of the immense increase when it is stated that the daily 
arrivals are estimated in round numbers at a thousand souls. 

The progressive improvement in the morals of the population has 
also been very great, as shown by the most reliable and authentic sources 
of information. In fact, there are just grounds for stating that New 
South Wales is more free from crime that could have possibly been ex- 
pected by the most ardent philanthropist. It may not be irrelevant to 
quote in this place an unimpeachable testimony in behalf of a large por- 
tion of the present population of the colony ? which reflects great credit 
upon them. 

Mr. T. H. Braim, formerly of St. John's College, Cambridge, and 
now head principal of Sydney College, N. S. W., in his interesting 
History of New South Wales to 1844, thus speaks of the Australian 
youth : — 

" Descended, as many of them have been, from parents whose names 
were stained by crimes against their country and their God ; brought up 
under a fearfully imperfect mental training, a neglected moral cultiva- 
tion, and either an entire omission, or at the best but an imperfect per- 
formance of the duties and ordinances of religion, they have yet risen 
superior to these disadvantages, have earned for themselves a good name, 
have reared families in Jionor and respectability, and are now themselves 
in the enjoyment of general esteem and confidence, and their children, 
availing themselves of blessings placed within their reach, which their 
fathers knew not, are bearing upon them the buds of excellence." 

Of the emancipists, he says : — 

• : They form no uninteresting part of the population ; feeling that 
they had a bad character to lose and a good one to gain, they have in 
many instances set themselves about the work of reformation ; some of 
them are reckoned among our most honorable tradesmen and merchants, 
among the most liberal supporters, too, of the various benevolent insti- 
tutions which adorn our land (Australia). Some of these institutions 
have been all but entirely founded, and are now mainly supported by 
their means. In many cases they have, by their industry and persever- 
ance, acquired considerable wealth ; and in most instances the wealth 
thus obtained has been generously and honorably devoted to the public 
benefit, the real and substantial advancement of this land of their ex- 
patriation. Nor do we know a more pleasing trait in human character 
than that which is thus displayed ; once degraded, they have paid to a 
violated law the satisfaction it imperatively demanded ; but when the 
debt was paid another obligation was felt to remain behind. Society 



AUSTRALIA. 5 1 

had lost that beneficial influence which each member is called upon to 
exercise, and to atone for this was now their honorable desire. In the 
fair and honest pursuit of commerce, by untiring industry, they acquired 
those means which enabled them to gratify their wish — a competence — 
more, a profession — rewarded their patient toil ; and no sooner was this 
poured into their lap, than they gave it back, spreading it through numer- 
ous channels, through each of which, as it flowed, it left blessings that 
even succeeding ages may enjoy. To say nothing of many public build- 
ings, which are the chief architectural embellishments of our city, and 
which have been the result of their enterprise and zeal, we turn to some 
of those institutions of charity and benevolence which own them as their 
earliest supporters."— [Vol. ii., pp. 315-16.] 



52 



AUSTKALIA. 



CHAPTER Y. 

SAILING DIRECTIONS, TIDES, WINDS, ETC. 

The distances and bearings of the several points around the coast 
are stated to be as follows : — 



Wilson's Promontory to Cape Howe, N. E. 

Cape Howe to Breaksea Spit, N. a little E. . 

Breaksea Spit to Cape York, N. W. 

Cape York to Cape Van Diemen, W. 

Cape Van Diemen to North-West Cape, S. W. . 

North- West Cape to Cape Leeuwin, S. 

Cape Leeuwin to Great Australian Bight, E. a little N. 

Great Australian Bight to Wilson's Promontory, S. E. 

Circumference in round numbers 



The voyages and discoveries of those skilful and enterprising 
seamen, .Flinders (1801-2), King (1818-20), Wickham and Stokes 
(1837-43), Blackwood (1842-46), Stanley, Bremuer, Chambers, Hey- 
wood, Hobson, and other naval officers, have furnished valuable nautical 
surveys of the coast line of this vast island. 



Miles. 


250 


950 


. 1,150 


900 


. 1,300 


900 


. 1,200 


1,100 


. 7,750 



TIDES. 

The tidal wave strikes the whole coast of Australia, from Sydney to 
Torres Strait, nearly at the same time, viz., at eight o'clock at the full 
and change of moon. At Cape Palmerston, the rise is from twenty -four 
to thirty feet, while at Port Bowen to the south, and at Port Molle to 
the north, the rise is only sixteen feet. At Port Bowen the flood tide 
comes from the south, while at Broad Sound and to the north, it comes 
from the north. On the north-west coast of Australia, about Cambridge 
Gulf and Buccaneer's Archipelago, there is also a limited space where 
the rise and fall of tide is greater than on the adjacent coasts. At 
Rockingham Bay, Endeavour River, and about Palm Island, there is no 
tide at all. At Hanover Bay, on the west coast, the highest tides occur 
on the fourth day of the full or change of the moon, when they attain a 
maximum height of twenty -five feet, while during the neaps, the dif- 



AUSTKALIA. 53 

ference between high and low water does not sometimes exceed twenty- 
four inches. Captain Stokes says that the tides in the head of the Gulf 
of Carpentaria appear to be a compound of many others, obliterating the 
common daily difference, and producing only one tide in twenty-four 
hours. The direction of the flood stream commences at S. S. E., chang- 
ing gradually to S. S. W. as it terminates ; that of the ebb changes from 
N. W. to N. N. E. The strength of each is from a quarter to one knot ; 
rise at springs, nine to twelve feet; at neaps, three to eight feet. At 
the entrance of Van Piemen's Inlet, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, it is high 
water at the full and change of the moon at a quarter to seven, but in the 
upper part the tides are three hours and a quarter later. The length 
of both flood and ebb is twelve hours, and the direction of the flood being 
being from the northward, following the eastern shore of the gulf. There 
are currents from Breaksea Spit to Torres Straits ; from thence it sets to 
the north-west, but after passing the strait it is affected by the monsoons. 



WINDS. 

In the tropics the real motion of the earth in an opposite direction 
to the apparent motion of the vertical sun westward, produces a westerly 
motion both in the tides of the sea and in the atmosphere ; hence the 
origin of the " trade winds," which extend beyond the tropics into both 
hemispheres, and shift northerly and southerly with the declination of 
the sun. These winds tend more to the southward as the latitude in- 
creases, and extend farthest into each hemisphere during its summer. 
A great portion of the southern hemisphere being sea, the extra-tropical 
wind is much more regular than in the northern, but in both the pre- 
vailing wind blows in an opposite direction to the trade; hence on the 
south and west coasts of New Holland, the south-west wind is the most 
constant, and it produces an easterly current in the ocean which is felt 
along the south shore. 

The arid and heated surface which appears to form the interior of 
Australia, attracts the wind from the north coast, and it blows to the 
south and east in hot and violent gusts, the thermometer reaching fre- 
quently 120° Fahr. It has been marked at 110° Fahr. on Christmas 
eve in New South Wales. In the winter season, when the land begins to 
cool, west winds prevail on the south coast. There is no periodical re- 
currence of dry and rainy seasons between Cape Howe and the tropic of 
Capricorn, where the variations incident to the torrid zone commence. 
The south-east trade wind is tolerably regular for three-fourths of the 
year, and the sea and land breezes steady. From Torres Strait to Cape 



54: AUSTKALIA. 

Van Diemen, the monsoons are felt in the open channel ; the south-east 
wind blows from March or April to November ; weather generally fine 
during the remainder of the year, when the sun is nearly vertical. The 
north-west monsoon is accompanied by heat, thunder, lightning, and 
heavy rains. The great size and peculiar configuration of the Gulf of 
Carpentaria has considerable influence ; the south-east monsoon, which 
is a sea wind, brings the rainy season ; the north-west, which is a land 
wind, brings dry weather. 

The north-west coast lying between the tropics and the east trade 
wind, and trending to the southward, has not so much of a tropical cha- 
racter, and the east monsoon which begins in April, and blows in gusts, 
seldom lasts longer than the end of June. The monsoon in summer (De- 
cember and January), blows from the west, varying a point or two to the 
north or to the south. In February the west wind dies away ; the weather 
becomes variable, with squalls and heavy rain. Currents follow the wind 
on the west coast ; the general winds are from between the north-west 
and south, but generally toward the west, and near Cape Leeuwin chiefly 
from the south-west — in summer, often from the north-west during the 
night. The ocean current divides into two parts at Cape Leeuwin ; 
one sets east along the south coast, the other north along the west coast. 

On the south coast the wind is from the west during the greater 
part of the year, and easterly only during the latter end of summer in 
January, February, and March ; it is then felt most at projections of 
the coast, viz., near Wilson's Promontory and King G-eorge's Sound. 

The land' wind on the north-west coast has the same dry and parch- 
ing character as in New South Wales ; when Captain King rounded the 
north-west Cape in February, and got under the lee of the land, the air 
which had previously been of a pleasant temperature, become so hot as 
to produce a scorching sensation. Towards the middle of the north- 
west coast, he found the temperature at noon in the shade 120° Fahr., 
and on land ten degrees higher. The north-west and north coasts par- 
take of the unhealthiness of a tropical region, the atmosphere being in- 
fected by vegetable miasma. The intertropical parts of the east coast, 
possessing high and diversified land, not so subject to be flooded, and 
with regular monsoons, appears more salubrious. The general direction 
of the winds on the west and south-west, south and south-east coasts, 
being from the sea, the temperature in summer is delightful. On the 
Blue Mountains in New South Wales, and on the Australian Alps in 
Port Phillip, snow falls in winter, and it freezes there for several 
months, generally in June, July, and August. Hail falls in large, ir- 
regular masses during the summer. 



AUSTRALIA. 00 

The prevailing directions of the winds at Sydney are thus indi- 
cated : — 



Wind's Direction. 


Morning. 


Noon. 


Evening. 


North 


4 


7 


23 


North-northeast 










— 


11 


11 


North-east 












12 


129 


109 


East-northeast 












— 


11 


5 


East 












4 


3 


8 


East-southeast 












1 


2 


5 


South-east 












9 


45 


70 


South-southeast 








. 




8 


27 


13 


South by East 












1 


5 


4 


South 








. 




29 


31 


15 


South by West 












3 


2 


4 


South-southwest 












8 


11 


8 


South-west 












109 


35 


45 


West-southwest 








. 




42 


5 


3 


West by South 
West 












4 
118 


2 
10 


1 
8 


West by North . 












2 


— 


— 


West-northwest 












6 


2 


3 


North-west 












4 


16 


19 


North-northwest 












1 


8 


5 


North by West . 










— 


— 


2 



During the summer months a regular sea breeze sets in daily, and 
refreshes the inhabitants along the coast. The direction, humidity, and 
siccidity of the winds in Australia, are, doubtless, influenced by the 
general laws which govern the atmospheric circulation ; but these laws 
are modified by various local circumstances, such as the extent and 
form of the island-continent, and the vastness of the surrounding ocean. 
Winds from the northerly and southerly quarters are the most numer- 
ous ; in winter on an average of 100 winds, 60 proceed from the south- 
erly quarter, making the proportion of the polar to the equatorial, as 3 : 
1 ; in summer, of 100 winds, 42 are from the northerly quarter — polar to 
equatorial, 1 : 2. These proportions vary at Port Phillip and other 
stations, owing, probably, to the position and configuration of the 
land. 

At Port Jackson the winter is marked by the prevalence of the polar 
winds, and the summer by that of equatorial ; at Port Phillip, the 
equatorial prevail in winter, and the polar in summer ; and in "Van Die- 
men's Land the equatorial winds prevail during both summer and winter. 

The mean direction of this wind in New South Wales is from the 
north-west, and its velocity sometimes exceeds a regular gale ; occasion- 



56 AUSTRALIA. 

ally it has a ricochet movement, or appears produced, by a rotation on a 
set of horizontal axes. 

The land, on approaching Port Jackson from the southward, appears 
low, compared with the coast of the Illawarra district ; the cliffs near 
Port Jackson are about 200 feet in height ; and in general effect and 
outline, though darker colored, not unlike the Dover cliffs of England. 

Suddenly an abrupt breach is seen in the sea-wall, against which the 
vast volume of water in the Southern Pacific is rolled with incessant 
swell ; but the moment the tempest-tossed mariner has fairly passed 
through this singular cleft or fissure, the waters are as tranquil as a 
mill-pond. On the south head of the entrance of Port Jackson, an 
excellent light-house* was erected by Governor Macquaire, which Captain 
Stokes says he saw, in her H. M. S. Beagle, at a distance of thirty 
miles, from a height of fifty feet, during the period of a clear atmo- 
sphere. 

Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, is built partly in a narrow 
ravine or valley. The formation on which it stands is a freestone rock, 
which passes inland for about two miles, in undulating and nearly par- 
allel ridges, in a direction almost due south of that portion of Port 
Jackson generally known as the Stream or Middle Harbor, which, with 
Sydney Cove and Darling Harbor, incloses greater part of the city on 
three sides. The ridges decline as they recede from the Middle 
Harbor, until they terminate in an almost level plain, bounded on the 
south by a transverse range of elevated rock, known as the Surry Hills, 
which comprise the southern suburbs. The boundaries of the town of 
Sydney, port of Sydney, Sydney Cove, and Darling Harbor, are : — 

Toion of Sydney. — Bounded on the north by the waters of Port 
Jackson, from a landmark at the head of Blackwattle Bay to Rushcutter's 
Bay ; on the east by the Stream entering Rushcutter's Bay, to a bridge 
on the South Head Road at the north-west corner of Sydney Common ; 
and by the western boundary of that common to a road extending west- 

* The light-house is in 33° 51' 40" S. lat, 151° 16' 50" E. Ion. ; the tower is admirably 
built ; the height of the light (a revolving one) from the base being 76 feet, and above 
the sea 277 feet, — total 353. The famer S. head bears from the light-house N. by W. 
| W. distant a mile and a quarter. The outer 1$. head bears it N. by E. two miles. The 
inner S. and outer N. heads lie N.E. i E. and S.W. £ of each other, distant a mile and 
one-tenth. The light can be seen from S. by E. to N. byE., and from a ship's deck, on 
a clear night, eight to ten leagues, appearing like a luminous star. Bearings magnetic, 
distances nautical — variations 9 degrees E. 

N. B. — The N. end of the " Sow and Pigs" rocks, near which there is a light, bears 
from the inner S. head S. W. by W. half a mile. 



AUSTRALIA. 57 

ward to the back of Cleveland House ; on the south by that road and 
its western fence prolonged to a landmark on the road to Cook's River ; 
on the west by the western side of the road to Cook's River, and that 
line prolonged to a landmark at the head of Blackwattle Bay. 

Port "of Sydney. — The channel extending westward from the heads 
of Port Jackson to Long Nose Point, including Sydney Cove, Darling- 
Harbor, and extending one mile up Middle Harbor, and the various 
other bays or inlets on each shore thereof. 

Sydney Cove. — The waters included within a line extending from 
Dawes' Point to the north-west bastion of Fort Macquaire, and the 
shores to the southward of this line. 

Darling Harbor. — The waters included within a line extending from 
Dawes' to the south east point of the shore nearest to and opposite to 
Goat Island ; the shores of this harbor on the side of the town and 
those opposite to them. 

Port Phillip was discovered by Lieutenant Murray, R. N., when com- 
manding the Lady Nelson, New South Wales colonial brig, in January. 
1802, and was shortly after visited and surveyed by Captain Flinders, 
in His Majesty's ship Investigator. The entrance is scarcely two 
miles in width, but within, tlie port expands into a capacious haven. 
The heads are forty miles from the innermost anchorage, off Melbourne, 
situated at the north side of the bay, which has a breadth varying from 
twenty to sixty miles, and includes an area of not less than 875 square 
miles of water, capable of holding in perfect safety the largest fleet of 
ships that ever went to sea. The entrance is narrowed by rocks lying 
off Point Nepean (in 38° 18' S. lat., 144° 30' 30" E. long.), and by 
shoals on the opposite headland. It is, however, deep enough to admit 
vessels of any size at low water, and may be safely entered at flood-tide, 
which rises six feet. Masters unacquainted with the harbor, should not 
attempt to enter at night or at ebb tide. There are numerous sand- 
banks about the middle of the harbor, which break the force of the sea 
when the wind is from the south, ancl afford a smooth anchorage near 
Melbourne ; the eastern passage to which, along the bay, is the deepest 
and safest. On the western side of Port Phillip, a branch or arm ex- 
tends into the land in a west-southwest direction for about fifteen miles, 
and has an entrance of about six miles wide ; it is called Geelong Har- 
bor. A small basin at its upper end communicates with the larger one 
by a narrow navigable channel. Geelong Harbor runs nearly east and 
west, and there is secure anchorage at its farthest extremity. 

The nrincipal features, on entering the bay of Port Phillip, are Ar- 



58 AUSTEALIA. 

tkur's Seat, Station Peak \Youang\ and a bluff in the north-east, called 
Dandonong. Youang is one of a small cluster of lofty peaks, rising 
abruptly out of a low plain on the west side of the bay. Arthur's Seat 
forms the north extremity of a towering range, declining gradually, on 
the east shore, to the coast at Cape Shanck. 

The following is an Abstract of the Directions for Entering Port 
Phillip, as laid down by Captain W. Hobson, R. N., of H. M. S. 
Rattlesnake, who made a running survey of the port. 

" In approaching Port Phillip from the westward, the entrance can- 
not be distinguished until Point Nepean bears N. N. E. ; then you open 
Shortland Bluff, and obtain a view of the Estuary. But the position 
of the entrance is easily determined by its situation with respect to 
Mount Flinders to the westward, and Arthur's Seat to the eastward. 
Mount Flinders is a small flat-topped hill at the extremity of the low 
land; it makes like an island, and bears W. -J-N. from Point Nepean. 
Arthur's Seat is the highest land on the coast westward of Western 
Port ; from the southward its north-west extremity appears precipitous ; 
it slopes to the south-east, and its summit bears E. J S. from Point 
Nepeao, which is situated on the eastern side of the entrance, at the 
extremity of a peninsula, which slopes gradually from the base of Ar- 
thur's Seat ; at one-sixth of a mile N. W. by W. from the Point is a low 
rocky islet, connected with the shore by a reef, which dries at low water ; 
even in calm weather the sea breaks on it with considerable violence. 
Point Lonsdale, on the western side, is a low point jutting out from a 
dark rocky cliff, from which a reef runs two cables' length to the east- 
ward, and forms the southern extremity of a bay that terminates at 
Shortland Bluff to the northward. To enter Port Phillip a fair wind 
or a flood tide is indispensable ; with a fair wind keep in mid-channel 
between Point Nepean and Point Lonsdale, and steer in for Shortland 
Bluff until Point Nepean bears S. E. by S., then shape a course as here, 
after directed for the channel through which you mean to pass ; with a 
beating wind do not approach Point Lonsdale nearer than a quarter of 
a mile, and be careful to avoid a sunken rock which lies N. W. by W., 
two cables' length from the rocky islet off Point Nepean. The sound- 
ings across the entrance are very irregular, varying in one cast from 
seven to twenty-four fathoms, and again suddenly shoaling to five or six. 
On the edge of the reef of Point Lonsdale is a depth of five fathoms 
close to the rocks, and the same depth on the southern edge of the reef 
that extends from Point Nepean to the rocky islet. The tide in the 



AUSTRALIA. 59 

entrance runs with considerable force in the height of the springs. 
From its impetuosity, and the irregularity of the bottom, a rippling is 
created which in rough weather would render it very unsafe for an un- 
decked vessel to pass through, and presents to a stranger so much the 
appearance of breakers, that it requires good nerve to venture on. If 
the wind should be light, care must be taken to get into the fair way 
before you come too near the reefs, as the flood-tide sets across them 
towards the entrance of the port, with great strength. As the entrance 
is only contracted by projecting points, with a favorable tide or a fair 
wind, you are soon within them, and then if you are desirous to anchor, 
a good berth may be found anywhere between Observatory Point and 
Point King, within half a mile of the shore, in seven fathoms, clay 
bottom. 

" When bound through the Western Channel, take care to avoid a 
little shoal called the Pope's Eye, on which there is only twelve feet. 
The following marks will place you exactly on it. Swan Point N. 1° E. 
(mag.) Mount Eliza, summit on with north end of the flat island. If 
bound through the Western Channel, pass to the westward of Pope's 
Eye, by keeping Swan Point to the northward of N. % E., until Short- 
land Bluff bears W. \ S. 3 and steer for the entrance of the channel, 
which lies between a shoal that commences two cables' length to the 
northward of Swan Point and the west bank ; to clear the bank off Swan 
Point, keep Point Lonsdale just open with Shortland Bluff, until Swan 
Point bears N. ■§• W., the course then is N. N. E., and mid-channel will 
be preserved by keeping Point Nepean a finger's breadth open with 
Swan Point ; the soundings are from four fathoms at the centre, to a 
quarter less three at the sides, from which the banks shoal suddenly to 
five or six feet, and in some places dry at low water 5. when Station Peak 
is seen oyer the north red cliff, bearing N. 72° W., you are clear to the 
northward of the banks, and will be in seven fathoms water. In approach- 
ing from the northward, bring Point Nepean open with Swan Point 
before the north red bank bears N. 72° W. 3 and follow the leading 
marks. This channel has now a buoy marking the entrance on the 
edge of Pope's Eye, two more on the edge of the shoals on either hand, 
and a fourth on the Swan Spit. In beating through, you must be 
guided by the eye on the eastern side when the shoals show themselves 
very distinctly, and take care not to shut the marks. In standing to 
the westward, at all times, it is advisable to keep a person aloft, whence 
the shoals may generally be distinguished. The tide runs from two to 
three knots per hour, and follows the direction of the channel. To pass 



60 AUSTKALIA. 

through the south channel when fairly within the port, keep along the 
south shore, at a mile distance, in nine or ten fathoms water, until 
abreast of Point King, from which situation an E. by S. course, with 
very slight deviations, will carry you through. It is impossible to find 
any leading mark for a channel so long, and in some places so narrow, 
that is not more liable to perplex a stranger than to guide him. The 
only certain measures of navigating it, until regularly buoyed, is by the 
eye from aloft, and when the weather is too hazy to show the banks it is 
not safe to go through. The soundings in the south channel are very 
irregular, from sixteen fathoms to five, and close to the edge of the 
banks, from that to three, two, and one fathom. Although the deepest 
water is to be found in this channel, it is not to be preferred by vessels 
drawing less than sixteen feet water ; the absence of any leading 
mark, and its great length, being a great objection. The harbor-master 
in a late government notice, has declared this passage to be impracti- 
cable, from the shifting of the sands. The south sand that commences 
near Point King, forms the south side of the channel, its eastern end 
bears S. W. | S., (mag.), from the white cliff, and to the eastward of that, 
deep water extends close to the shore. 

" The northern side of the channel is formed by the middle ground, 
the western end of which bears N. -J E. (mag.) from Point King, and 
extends seven miles eastward when Station Peak is on with Indented 
Head bearing N. W. by W. (mag), and White Cliff S. W. by W. J W., 
you are clear of the middle ground, and may steer to the northward. 
Symond's Channel may be made available in N. or N. W. winds, when 
unable to fetch through the western channel, but is not recommended 
for any but small vessels until it is buoyed. The Pinnace Channel' is 
only suitable for small vessels, the deepest water will be found close 
along the edge of the great sand. To pass clear of the shoals to the 
northward, keep Station Peak on with the extreme of Indented Head, 
and do not shoal the water under nine fathoms. From the edge of the 
bank over the area of Port Phillip, to within a mile of the shore, there 
is deep water every where, with the exception of the Prince George 
Bank off Indented Head, and in running and beating towards Hobson's 
Bay, at the northern extremity of the port, there is nothing to appre- 
hend. Steer in for Point Gellibrand and pass it at two cables' length 
distance, taking care in so doing not to shoal the water under five 
fathoms, and to anchor when you bring Point Gellibrand to bear S. S. W. 
in four-and-a-half fathom water ; small vessels may bring it to bear 
south in two fathoms. A light-house is now erected on this point, 



AUSTRALIA. 61 

which will at night direct strangers to the anchorage, independent of the 
lights of the town and numerous shipping. If you are bound into Gree- 
long harbor from sea, be careful to give a berth of at least two miles 
from Indented Head to avoid the Prince George Bank, which extends 
from it in a N. E. direction. In rounding the shoal on the east and 
north sides do not shoal the water under seven fathoms until Point 
Richard bears W. by S., you may then haul up for Point Henry. 

" Do not approach the northern shore nearer than one mile, and in 
passing Point Wilson keep Point Henry to the westward of W. by S. 
(mag ) ; one mile east, or E. by S. from Point Henry, there is tolerable 
good anchorage. On the bar at the head of Greelong harbor you cannot 
insure more than seven feet at high water ; at a cable's length within 
the bar there are five fathoms, and the depth may be carried close up 
to the shore ; the rise and fall of the tide does not exceed four feet in 
any part of the port, and more commonly it does not rise beyond two 
feet six inches on the springs ; both the time of high water, and the ex- 
tent to which it rises, are greatly influenced by the wind ; the force of 
the tide through the channels leading to the north from the mouth may 
be estimated at from two to three miles per hour ; in the south channel 
it runs with less force, and in the wide expanse northward of the banks 
it is scarcely perceptible. When it acquires its greatest strength it is 
not safe for any open boat to venture out, but it is easy to conceive the 
rapidity with which it must run to raise the level of 875 square miles of 
water four feet by means of so small an embouchure." 



62 



AUSTRALIA. 



CHAPTER VI 



CUSTOMS' DUTIES AND CHARGES. — PILOTAGE. — WHARFAGE RATES. — TONNAGE 
AND HARBOR DUES. — STORAGE, ETC. 

The customs duties form the largest items of revenue. Until the 6th 
of July, 1849, there was a differential tariff in South Australia ; but un- 
der the authority of the Imperial Legislature, the Colonial Legislative 
Council from the above date adopted a uniform tariff on the importation 
of the goods and produce of all countries alike. The duties levied on the 
principal articles are — manufactures of cotton, silk, wool, and linen, five 
per cent, ad valorem ; also on arms, apparel, baskets, boats, brass manufac- 
tures, brooms and brushes, clocks and watches, copper manufactures? 
cutlery, earthenware, furniture, gloves, grindery, hair manufactures, iron 
manufactures unenumerated, implements and tools, lead manufactures, 
machinery, matting, musical instruments, netting, paper stained and 
hangings, perfumery, pewter ware, pictures, pipes not of common clay, 
plate and plated goods, saddlery and harness, stationery, tin ware, five 
per cent, ad valorem. On all other articles the duties are as follows : — 



Alkali, 6d. per cwt. 
Annatto, 3s. 
Arrowroot, 3s. 
Bacon and hams, 2s. 6d. 
Bags and sacks — corn, 5s. 

per 100 ; ore, gunny and 

returned, 6s. 6d. 
Bales for wool, 2d. each. 
Beef and pork, Is. 6d. per 

cwt. 
Beer, porter, ale, cider, and 

perry, 3d. per gallon. 
Liquid blacking, 4d. per 

gallon. 
Paste blacking, Id. per lb. 
Printed books, 6s. per 

cwt. 
Barrows and trucks. Is. 

each. 



Boots, 6d. per dozen pairs 

Half boots, 3s. 

Shoes. 2s. 

Children's, Is. 

Bread and biscuit, 7d. per 

cwt. 
Glass and stone bottles, Id. 

per dozen. 
Fire and Bath bricks, 5s. 

per 1,000. 
Other bricks, 2s. 
Brimstone, 6d. per cwt. 
Butter, 3s. 
Chain cables, Is. 6d. 
Tallow candles, 3s. 
Wax, composition, sperm. 

&c, 6s. 
Canvas, 2 s. per bolt. 
Carts and drays, 10s. each. 



Wheeled wagons and 

timber carriages, 20s. 
Carriages 5 per cent, ad 

valorem. 
Empty casks, 2s. per tun. 
Cement, 4d. per cwt. 
Chalk, Is. 6d. per ton 
Cheese, 3s. per cwt. 
Chocolate and cocoa, Id, 

per lb. 
Coals, 9d. per ton. 
Coke, 2s. 

Coffee, 4s. per cwt. 
Confectionery, 2d. per lb. 
Copper, sheathing and 

nails, 5s. per cwt. 
Cordage and rope, viz., 

Europe, 2s. per cwt. 
Manilla, Is. 6d. 



AUSTRALIA. 



63 



Coir and Jute, 9d. 

Unenumerated. Is. 6d. 

Small cord and twine, 5s. 
per. cvvt. 

Cork, 2s. 

Corks. 1 d. per gross. 

Corn, meal, and flour, viz., 
wheat, Is. 6d. per quar- 
ter. 

Barley, Is. 3d. 

Oats, Is. 3d. 

Maize and millet, Is. 

Peas, beans, and pulse. 
Is. 6d. 

Malt, 3s. 

Flour and meal, Is. per 
100 lbs. 

Bran and pollard, 3d. do. 

Cutlery, 5 per cent, ad 
valorem. 

Drapery, ditto. 

Drugs — corrosive subli- 
mate, 2d. per lb. 

Spirits of tar, Id. per gall. 

Vitriol, Id. 

Unenumerated drugs, 5 
per cent, ad valorem. 

'Other unenumerated and 
manufactures, ditto. 

Bed feathers, Id. per lb. 

Dry and pickled fish, Is. 
per ewt. 

Flax, Is. 

Dried fruits of all sorts, 2s. 

In bottles, 6d. per dozen 
quarts. 

Preserved in sugar, suc- 
cades, and jams of all 
sorts. Id. per lb. 

Fresh, 6d. per bushel. 

Plate glass, in squares ex- 
ceeding 600 inches, 4d. 
per lb. ; not exceeding 
600 inches, 3d. 

Crown and sheet, in sqrs. 
not exceeding 200 inch- 
es, 2s. per 100 feet: not 
exceeding 200 inches, 
Is. 6d. 

Flint glass, cut, cast, mir- 
rors, and manufactures, 
5 per cent, ad valorem. 

Glue, Is. 6d. per cwt. 



Grease, Is. 

Sporting gunpowder, in 
cannisters, 5s. per cwt. 

Blasting, 2s. 3d. 

Groceries, 5 per cent, ad 
valorem. 

Haberdashery and millin- 
ery, ditto. 

Hosiery, ditto. 

Curled hair for uphosterers' 
use, Id. per lb. 

Hats and Caps, 5 per cent, 
ad valorem. 

Hay, 2s. per ton. 

Dressed hemp, Is. 6d. per 
cwt. 

Undressed tow and oakum, 
Is. 

Dressed hides, 3. 

Raw, salt, and dried, Is. 

Honey, 4s. 

Hops, 2d. per lb. 

Writing ink, 3d. per gallon. 

Printing ink, Id. per lb. 

Iron, viz., bar and rod, 10s. 
per ton ; sheet and hoop, 
14s. ; pig, 5s. ; sledges, 
anchors, anvils, plates, 
cart-arm moulds, and ar- 
ticles of wrought iron, 
heavy and in the rough, 
Is. per cwt.; cart-arms 
and boxes, finished — 
chain, articles of wrought 
iron, finished, Is. 6d. ; 
camp ovens, pots, boilers, 
and castings, lOd. ; 

Refined isinglass, 6d. per 
lb. 

Common for manufacture. 
2d. 

Implements and tools, 5 per 
cent ad valorem. 

Jewellery, ditto. 

Old junk, Is. per cwt. 

Lard, 2s. 6d. 

Lead, viz., pig, sheet, and 
shot, Is. per cwt. 

Leather, sole, 3s. per cwt. 

Kip and Harness, 6s. 

Calf, Id. per lb. 

Patent Basils, 5s. per doz. 

Kangaroo, Is. 



Hogskin, Is. each. 

Basils, 6d. per dozen. 

Enamel, 3s. 6d. per hide. 

Lime and lemon juice, and 
syrup of ail sorts, 3d. per 
gallon. 

Lucifers, 4d. per gross of 
boxes. 

Maccaront and Vermicelli, 
Id. per lb. 

Mats and matting, 5 per 
cent, ad valorem. 

Musical instruments, ditto. 

Mustard, Id. per lb. 

Needles, 3d. 1,000. 

Nuts, viz., almonds, wal- 
nuts, chestnuts, filberts, 
and small nuts, 2s. per 
cwt. 

Shelled almonds, 4s. 

Cocoa, 6d. per cwt. 

Oil, black, Id. per gallon. 

Sperm, head-matter, and 
other fish or animal oil, 
3d. 

Linseed, rape, hemp, and 
cocoa-nut, 2d.. 

Olive, castor and other ve- 
getable oils, 6d. 

Oilman's stores, 5 per cent, 
ad valorem. 

Onions, Is. per cwt. 

Paints, Is. 

Painters' colors, and whit- 
ing, 6d. 

Brown paper, wrapping, 
and blotting, 3s. per cwt. 

Printing and cartridge 5s. 

Writing Id. per lb. 

Other unenumerated manu- 
factures, 5 per cent, ad 
valorem. 

Parchment, 3s. per roll. 

Percussion caps, 2d. per 
1,000. 

Pickles and fruit preserved 
in salt, 4d. per gallon. 

Tobacco pipes, of common 
clay, Id. per gross. 

Pitch, Is. per barrel. 

Potatoes, 3s. per ton. 

Provisions and preserved 
meats, 3s. per cwt. 



64 



AUSTKALIA. 



Pins, Id. per lb. 

Rice, 9d. per cwt. 

Rosin, 6d. per barrel. 

Sago, Is. per cwt. 

Salt, 3s. per ton. 

Saltpetre, Is. 6d. per cwt. 

Skins for tanning, 4d. per 
dozen. 

Soap, Is. per cwt. 

Spices, viz., cassia, 3s, per 
cwt. 

Cinnamon, 2d. per lb. 

Cloves, Id. 

Mace, 2d. 

Nutmegs, 2d. 

Ginger, 2s. per cwt. 

Pepper, Is. 6d. 

Other spices, 5 per cent, ad 
valorem. 

Spirits or strong waters of 
all sorts, viz., for every 
gallon of such spirits or 
strong waters of any 
strength not exceeding 
the strength of proof by 
Syke's hydrometer, and 
so in proportion for any 
greater or less strength 
than the strength or proof, 
and for any greater or 
less quantity than a gal- 
lon. 

Also, perfumed spirits not 
being sweetened or 
mixed with any article 
so that the degree of 
strength thereof cannot 
be exactly ascertained 
by such hydrometer, 10s. 
per gallon. 



Spirits, cordials, or strong 
waters, sweetened or 
mixed with any article 
so that the degree of 
strength thereof cannot 
be exactly ascertained 
by Syke's hydrometer, 
10s. 

Starch, 2s. per cwt. 

Steel, 2s. 

Stones — millstones, 2s. per 
foot diameter. 

Grindstones, Id. 

Roofing slates, 3s. 6d. per 
1,000. 

Slabs and flag-stones, Is. 
per 100 feet superficial. 

Tomb and wrought stones, 
Id. per foot ditto. 

Marble, wrought, 6d. ditto. 

Bluestone, 5s. per cwt. 

Refined and candy sugar, 
4s. per cwt. 

Muscovado, 2s. 

Molasses, 2s. 

Tapioca, 2s. 

Tallow, 2s. 

Tar, 1 s. per barrel. 

Tea, 2d. per lb. 

Tin-plates, 2s. per box. 

Tobacco manufactured, 2s. 
per 3b. 

Unmanufactured, Is. 

Cigars and cheroots, 5s. 

Snuff. 2s. 

Boiled down in bond for 
sheepwash, Id. 

Toys, 5 per cent, ad valo- 
rem. 

Turnery and wooden ware, 
ditto/ 



Spirit of turpentine, 2d. 
per gallon. 

Vinegar, Id. 

Whalebone, 14s. per cwt. 

Wine, Is. per gallon. 

Wood, viz., posts and rails, 
handspikes, and poles, 
Is. 6'd. per 100. 

Paling, 6d. 

Shingles and laths, 6d. per 
1,000. 

Trenails and spokes, 2d. 
per 100. 

Oars, 2s. per 1 00 feet. 

Square timber, and balks, 
spars, deals, battens, 
quartering, planks, 

boards, and sawn, hewn, 
or split timber of all 
kinds, not otherwise par- 
ticularly enumerated or 
described, 2s. 6d. per 40 
cubic feet. 

Manufactures of wood, 5 
per cent, ad valorem. 

Zinc, and manufactures of 
ditto, ditto. 

Unenumerated articles, 
raw and manufactured;. 
5 per cent, ad valorem. 

N.B. — Animals, living. 

Baggage of passengers. 

Botles imported full. 

Bullion and coin. 

Plants and trees. 

Seeds and roots, garden. 

Specimens illustrative of 
natural history, and wool 
unmanufactured are im- 
ported free. 



The duties and charges vary slightly at different ports in the island 
They are : — 



AT SYDNEY. 



Customs. — Duties levied under the authority of Acts of Parliament 
— (1.) Upon all spirits made or distilled in the colony, 3s. 6d. per gal- 
lon ; (2.) Upon all rum or whiskey imported, 3s. 6d. per gallon ; (3.) 
Upon all other spirits and liquors whatsoever imported, 6s. per gallon : 



AUSTRALIA. 



65 



(4.) Wine imported, fifteen per cent, additional value ; (5.) Tea, sugar, 
flour, meal, wheat, rice, and other grain and pulse imported, 5s. per cent, 
additional value ; (6.) Tobacco, unmanufactured, Is. 6d. per lb. ; (7.) 
Tobacco, manufactured, 2s. 6d. per lb. All other goods, wares, and 
merchandise, not being the produce or manufacture of Great Britain, 
imported into the colony, ten per cent, additional value. 

There are also wharfage rates levied at public and private sufferance 
wharfs, and on all descriptions of goods imported : for instance, at pub- 
lic wharfs, on beer per hhd. 6d. ; on wine or spirits, Is. per leaguer ; 
on sugar, Is. Ad. per hhd.; on unenumerated goods, 2s. id. per ton. 
There is also a rate levied of one halfpenny per ton per diem on vessels 
unloading or refitting, beyond a certain number of days ; for instance, 
thirty-five days are allowed free for a ship of 500 tons. 



Custom House Charges. 



Description. 



For the entry inwards or clear-") 
ance outwards of ships or 
vessels (vessels under 50 | 
tons registered in Sydney ! 
excepted) ; for any steam 
vessels in the coasting trade 
from one port to another of 
New South Wales . . . 

For every other vessel so emp- 
tied above 50 and not ex- 
ceeding 100 tons .... 

For every other vessel so emp- 
tied above 100 tons . . . 

For every other ship or vessel 



Custom House Charges. 



Entry. 



Is. 3d. 



7 
15 



Clear. 



Is. 3d. 



7 
15 



Light House Dues. 



Per ton. 



0s. O^d, 



A Tonnage Duty is levied of 3d. per ton on all vessels above fifty 
tons entering any port in the colony, unless the same shall have been 
paid at any other port of the colony within the previous four months. 
Coasting vessels pay only once a-year. 

Harbor Dues, varying from 5s. on vessels under fifty tons, to 30s. on 
vessels of 500 tons and upwards, are levied on entry of harbor, or on 
shifting anchorage, not for the purpose of leaving port. Coasting ves- 
sels from one port of the colony to another exempted. 
5 



66 AUSTKALIA. 



PORT PHILLIP. 

The custom duties levied at Port Phillip are of the same amount ay 
those enacted for Sydney, New South Wales. Fifteen shillings per foot 
is charged on all vessels inward or outward bound as pilotage dues, he- 
sides harbor dues. One shilling per bale is charged for shipment of 
wool from Melbourne to Hobson's Bay (the shipping port), and 5s. per 
ton for general goods. 



SOUTH AUSTRALIA (OR ADELAIDE). 

Customs' Storage. — Ample accommodation is provided by the gov- 
ernment at this port for the storage of goods in bond, for which the fol- 
lowing are the weekly rates of storage : — For every pipe or puncheon. 
Is. ; hogshead or half-pipe, 6d. ; barrel or quarter-cask, 3d. ; tierce, 4d. ; 
six-dozen bottle cases, 6d. ; three-dozen ditto, 3d. Any less or greater 
quantity to be charged in proportion to the above scale. 

The powder magazine is situated on La Fevre's Peninsula, opposite 
Port Adelaide, where powder is stored at the following rates : — For each 
barrel containing 50 lbs., for not more than six weeks, Is.; above six 
weeks, per week, 2d. ; containing less than 50 lbs., for not more than six 
weeks, 6d. ; above six weeks, per week, 1 \d. 

Rates of Pilotage. — For every vessel taking a pilot, £2; and in ad- 
dition for every foot of draft of water above nine feet, 10s. ; vessels 
employing the steam tug have one-fourth of their pilotage remitted. 
Harbor Services — Mooring, unmooring, and removing vessels above 70 
and under 100 tons, 10s. ; if 100 tons register, 15s. ; and for every 20 
tons above 100 tons, Is. In addition to the above, Is. per hour for each 
man in the harbor department employed in the above service. The 
charges for the use of the steam tug for towing in or out of harbor any 
vessel of 200 tons register or less, £5 ; and for every ton over 200 
tons, 6s. 

Dues on entry and clearance, wharfage and pilotage, were abolished 
in 1845. The storage charges at Port Adelaide are, for every pipe or 
puncheon, weekly, Is.; hogshead or half-pipe, 6d.] barrel or quarter- 
cask, 3d. ; tierce, Ad. ; six-dozen bottle case, 6d. ; three-dozen ditto, 6d. 

All British vessels of war, hired transports, merchant ships freighted 
^wholly or in part by government, vessels of the royal yacht squadron, 
and ships of war belonging to friendly nations, are exempt from all pilot- 
age, dues, &c. 



AUSTRALIA. 67 



CHAPTER VII. 

LICENSES. — POSTAGE. — COINS. — WEIGHTS AND MEASUEES. — AGENCY. COMMIS- 
SIONS. — INSUKANCE, ETC. 

The following are the duties charged on various licenses throughout the 
colony. 



Annual: auctioneers, for all the colony, £15; for a police district, 
only £2; publicans, general, £30; wine and beer only, £10; billiard 
table, £10 ; to keep open after nine o'clock at night, £10 ; packet license, 
for wines, &c, £2 ; confectioners, for ginger and spruce beer, £1 ; dis- 
tilling, £50 ; rectifying and compounding, £25 ; hawkers and pedlers, 
£1 ; stage carriage, 55. ; carters, 2s 6d. ; porters and boatmen, 5s. each. 

To cut timber on vacant crown lands, annually, £2, except cedar, 
which is £4. 

The tolls and ferries in the colony are numerous, and the rates 
levied about the same as in England. The rate of customs duties is 
stated under Commerce. There is an extensive list of fees, which are 
exacted in the different public offices in the colony, civil and ecclesias- 
tical, and carried to the credit of the public revenue. 

Auction duty. — Ten shillings on every hundred pounds sterling of 
the purchase money. 

Postage of letters. — "Weighing less than half-an-ounce, not exceeding 
fifteen miles, id. ; twenty, 5d. ; thirty, 6d. ; fifty. Id. ; eighty, 8d. ; one 
hundred and twenty, 9d. ; one hundred and seventy, 10<f/. ; two hundred 
and thirty, 1 1<^. ; three hundred, Is. ; for every hundred miles above 
three hundred, Id. By sea, from one part to another of the colony, Ad] 
colonial newspapers, within the colony, for seven days, transmitted once 
as a single letter. Ship letters, for receipt or dispatch, in addition to 
inland postage, 3^., 6d, 9d., or Is., quadruple. 



68 AUSTKALIA. 

The Coins in circulation are the gold, silver, and copper coins of 
Great Britain, which bear the same current value as in England. 

Weights and Measures as in England. 

General rates of agency, commission, and warehouse rent, agreed on 
at a meeting of the New South Wales Chamber of Commerce : — 

Commission per cent. — On sales or purchases of ships and other ves- 
sels, houses or lands, where no advance on them has been made, 2| ; on 
all other sales, purchases, or shipments, 5 ; on goods consigned, and 
afterwards withdrawn, or sent to public auction, if no advance on them 
has been made, 2£ ; on giving orders for the provision of goods, 2| ; on 
guaranteeing sales, bills, bonds, or other engagements, 2^ ; on the man" 
agement of estates for others, 5 ; on procuring freight or charter on 
passage money, and on freight collected, 5 ; on insurances effected, \ ; 
on settling losses, partial or general, 1 ; on effecting remittances, or pur" 
chasing, selling, or negotiating bills of exchange, 1 ; on tl e recovery of 
money, 2^ ; if by law or arbitration, 5 ; on collecting house rent, 5 j 
on attending the delivery on contract goods, 2 ; on becoming security 
for contracts, 5 on ships' disbursements, 5 ; on obtaining money on 
respondentia, 2 ; on letters of credit granted, 2^; on purchasing, selling, 
receiving from any of the public offices, lodging in ditto, delivering up, 
or exchanging government paper, or other public securities, \ ; on all 
items, on the debit or credit side of an account on which a commission 
of 5 per cent, has not been previously charged in the same account, in- 
cluding government paper, 1 ; on entering and clearing ships at the 
custom-house, each 1 guinea. 

Warehouse rent. — On all measurement goods, Is. per ton of 40 cubic 
feet per week ; on liquids, Is. Id. per tun of 253 gallons (old measure) 
per week ; on sugar, rice, salt, and similar articles, 6d. per ton per week ; 
on grain id. per bushel for first month, and \d. per bushel per week 
afterwards ; on iron, lead, &c, Ad. per ton per week. 

The following are the premiums charged by the Australian Marine 
Assurance Company, for insuring vessels and merchandise : 

Per cent. — Sperm fishery, for 12 months, 8 to 10 guineas; ditto for 
the voyage, 8 to 14 guineas ; Hobart Town, to or from, 1 guinea ; Laun- 
ceston, ditto, 1^ guinea; New Zealand and South Sea Islands, per 
month, 1 ; Manilla and China, to 2| from 3 ; Madras, Bombay, and Cal- 
cutta, to or from, not including risk through Torres Straits, 3 ; Mauri- 
tius, ditto, ditto. 2 to 4 ; Cape of Good Hope, ditto, ditto, 2£ ; United 
Kingdom, ditto, exclusive of war risk, 2£ to 3£ ; Rio de Janerio and 
Bahia, ditto, ditto, 2^. 



AUSTRALIA. (39 



CHAPTER YIIL 



THE GOVERNMENT AND COUETS OF LAW. 

In 1842, (30th July), under the act 5 & 6 Victoria, c. 76, a Legislative 
Council of thirty-six members was created, of whom one-third was nomi- 
nated by the Queen of England, and two-thirds elected by the colonists, 
on whom an elective franchise was conferred, namely, an estate of free- 
hold in possession in lands of the value of £200 sterling, or the occupa- 
tion of a dwelling house of the annual value of £20 sterling. No person 
is qualified to vote unless he had arrived at the full age of twenty-one 
years, a natural born or naturalized subjeet of England ; and if he had 
Ibeen attainted or convicted of treason, felony, or infamous offence, unless, 
he had received a free pardon, or one conditional on not leaving the 
colony, or had undergone the sentence or punishment to which he had 
been adjudged for such offenee. Voters to be qualified must have been 
in possession of estate, or occupancy of house, at least six calendar 
months before the date of election, and have paid up all rates and taxes 
payable by him as owner, in respect to sueh estate or house, which shall 
have become payable during three calendar months next before election 
or registration. The qualification of elective members of council was 
fixed at an estate of freehold, in lands in New South Wales, of the 
yearly value of £100 sterling, or of the value of £2,000 sterling, above 
all charges and incumbrances effecting the same. Under this act, the 
legislature then in operation was authorized to make all necessary 
provisions for dividing the colony into convenient electoral districts ; 
for issuing, executing, and returning the neeessary writs for such elec- 
tions ; for determining the validity of disputed returns, and other such 
matters. The district of Port Phillip was to return at least five mem- 
bers : the town of Melbourne, in Port Phillip, one ; and Sydney, New 
South Wales, two members. 

The Governor and Legislative Council were, by this act, authorized 
to make laws for the peace, welfare, and good government of the colony, 



70 AUSTRALIA. 

provided such enactments were not repugnant to the laws of England ? 
and did not interfere in any manner with the sale or other appropriation 
of the lands belonging to the crown in the colony, or with the revenues 
thence arising. 

The taxes, duties, rates, and imposts levied in the colony, were de- 
clared to be appropriated to the public service within the colony, by 
ordinances to be enacted by the Governor, with the advice and consent 
of the Legislative Council. 

The foregoing are the leading points in the act 5 & 6 Vict., c. 76. 
Under it the Legislative Council was established, and now holds its an- 
nual sittings; and Sydney and Melbourne were created corporations by 
charter : they have each a mayor and court of aldermen, who have ex- 
ercised beneficially the duties intrusted to them, and contributed to the 
welfare of the inhabitants of each city. 



COURTS OF LAW. 

The Statute Laws of England are in force in Australia, aided by 
Acts of Parliament and local enactments by the Governor and Legisla- 
tive Council. An Insolvent Debtors' Act is in operation, the benefit of 
which may be obtained by an insolvent a second or third time, if he pay 
fifteen shillings in the pound. 

The execution of the laws devolves upon a supreme court, presided 
over by a chief and two puisne judges. 

The supreme court is a court of oyer and terminer^ and jail de- 
livery ; it is also a court of equity, with ail the power, within its juris- 
diction, of the lord high chancellor of England ; and it is a court of 
admiralty for criminal offences, within certain limits ; it is empowered 
to grant letters of administration, and it is an insolvent debtors' court. 
From the supreme court, appeal lies in all actions, when the sum or 
matter at issue exceeds the value of £500, to the governor or acting 
governor, who is directed to hold a court of appeals, from which a final 
appeal lies to the Queen in council. 

Circuit courts are held in different parts of the colony. 

A Vice Admiralty court, presided over by the chief-justice of the 
supreme court, takes cognizance of civil cases only, such as seamens' 
wages, &c. 

Courts of requests have been established for summarily determining 
claims not exceeding £10 sterling. 



AUSTRALIA. 71 

Imprisonment for debt was abolished by the Insolvent Act passed 
in 1844. By the assent of a majority of the creditors, a debtor under 
this act may make a voluntary assignment of his property to the trus- 
tees appointed by the creditors, provided such assignment be published 
three times in one of the Sydney newspapers. 

In the earlier stages of the colony, criminal juries were formed of 
naval and military officers, and civil causes were determined by a judge 
and two sworn assessors. Now juries, selected as in England, sit in all 
civil and criminal cases. In 1844 a new jury law was passed by the 
colonial Legislative Council, by which in civil cases there need only 
be four jurymen ; if, after deliberating four hours, they cannot arrive at 
a unanimous judgment, the opinion of three-fourths may be taken as 
conclusive ; and if, after deliberating twelve hours, the jury of four 
cannot agree, a new trial must take place. Mr. Baker, an English law- 
yer, who visited New South Wales, says that the " Sydney bar is highly 
respectable in character, and is, certainly, the most numerous, and per- 
haps, taken as a whole, the best English bar out of England ; several of 
its members earn from £1,000 to £3,000 a-year, or more." Mr. Baker 
fancied himself " transported to England," on entering the supreme 
court at Sydney, and seeing three judges on the bench, the registrar and 
other officers at their feet, the attorney-general and solicitor-general in 
their silk gowns, the crowd of '-learned" gentlemen behind them ; all 
from the judges downwards, duly wigged and robed, and the attorneys, 
hardly discernible from amidst the heaps of red and blue bags, and 
piles of red-tape bundles, in which they delight to bury themselves. 
Coroners are stationed in different districts, and great attention is paid 
to this ancient and very important branch of jurisprudence. There are 
benches of unpaid magistrates at Sydney and in all the principal towns 
in the colony, aided by civil constables and a mounted police. There 
are several stipendiary magistrates. 



72 AUSTBALIA. 



CHAPTER IX. 

ZOOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY, AND ENTOMOLOGY. 
NATIVE ANIMALS. 

The native animals of Australia are few in number, and very peculiar 
in kind. Of all the known mammalia, but fifty-eight species, or about 
the one seventeenth part of the whole, belong originally to this region ; 
and of these, more than one-half are of the marsupial order. Of Cu- 
vier's order of carnivora, if we except the marine mammals of the seal 
genus (phoca), the dingo, or native dog, is the sole representative, and 
the important orders of quadrumana, pachydermata, and ruminantia, 
appear to be without any land representatives in this large portion of 
the globe. Of the edentata, the genera echidna, and ornithorhynchus, 
are destitute of teats, and do not suckle their young. The former 
genus (echidna), consists of two species of porcupines, one entirely 
covered with thick spines, the other clothed with hair, in which the 
spines are half hidden, The ornithorhynchi consist also of two species 
— O. riifus and O.fuscus. These creatures unite with the body, the 
fur, and habits of a mole, the webbed foot and bill of a duck ; are ovovi- 
viparous, and have the internal formation of a reptile. They are very 
shy, and lead a burrowing life in the mud of rivers and swamps. 

Of the rodentia, two species belong to the sub-genus hydromys, and 
consist of creatures that seem to unite some of the peculiarities of the 
dormouse, rat, and beaver. A new genus of rodentia, discovered by 
Mitchell, and called by him the fiat-tailed rat, is remarkable for the 
enormous nest of branches and boughs, which it builds so strongly, as 
to be proof against the attacks of the dingo, or native dog. The rabbit 
rat, which climbs trees like the opossum, is described by Mitchell, as 
having feet resembling those of a pig, the marsupial opening downwards, 
instead of upwards, as in the kangaroo, and about the size of a rabbit, 
but without a tail. Two species of mice (both peculiar), and the dipus 
Mitchellii, Australian jerboa, are included in the list of rodentia, and 



AUSTKALIA. 73 

the mymecobius rufus, or red shrew-mouse, is sometimes considered as 
belonging to that order. With these few exceptions, the whole of the 
Australian mammalia are of the marsupial order, of which there are 
many species ; the only character common among them being what has 
been termed the premature production of their young ; for even in the 
few kinds of marsupialia not possessed of pouches, the young hang to 
the mammce of the mother for a considerable time. The most numerous 
and important are the several varieties of the well-known kangaroo (ma- 
crqpus), one species of which (macropus unguifer), has the singular ap- 
pendage of a nail, like that on the little finger of a man, attached to its 
tail; the others are the different species of opossums, bandicoot, or 
pouched badger, a sort of sloth (phascolarctos), the wombat (phascolo- 
mys), an animal about the size of a badger, and very slow in its move- 
ments, and the kangaroo rat (pataroo), a diminutive kangaroo. 

Birds. — The list of Australian birds presents but two orders, wholly 
peculiar, namely, the syndactyles, of which the most beautiful are "the 
sacred kingfisher," the variegated bee-eater, the charming little trochi- 
lus, or humming bird, and the scansores, consisting of parrots, parro- 
quets, cockatoos, &c, which are very numerous, and adorned with every 
variety of gorgeous plumage. Among the order accipitres, is a species 
of vulture, so fierce, that when pressed by hunger, he has been known to 
attack the natives themselves. The white eagle is also a very rapacious 
bird. The cream-bellied falcon, the orange-speckled, and the milk-white 
hawk, are common varieties ; the last especially makes great havoc 
among the poultry. Of the owls, the most numerous is the bird called 
the cuckoo by the colonists, and " buck-buck " by the natives, from the ' 
cry which it reiterates during the winter nights. The order dentirostres 
includes a beautiful bird, having the habits of the red-breast ; several 
varieties of the thrush, one of which has obtained the soubriquet of the 
laughing jackass ; a description of field lark, and the wattle bird, 
which utters a chattering note ; swallows and goat-suckers, of the order 
fissirostres, are numerous. 

Conirostres. — There are several magpies and crows of this order, 
and beautiful birds of paradise, but the latter, like the various species 
of epimachi, are confined to northern Australia. 

GallincB. — Pheasants, quails, and pigeons are in considerable num- 
bers, of the latter the most remarkable variety is the bronze-winged. 
Grallse. — The cassowary or emu is found in nearly all parts of Australia. 
It is a very wild creature, and runs more swiftly than an English grey- 
hound. The eggs are of an elongated form, and of a green color ; the 



74 AUSTEALIA. 

flesh though coarse is eatable, especially that of the young. Australia 
has also some species of bustard, curlew ibis, — some of a glassy rifle- 
green ; herons, avasets, rails, snipes, spoonbills, &c. • 

Palmipedes — The black swan is found here. Gannets or boobies 
are numerous, especially on the north coast, where penguins, petrels, 
and ducks also abound. The cereopsis somewhat resembles the goose. 
Vampires of a large size are numerous. 

The habits of the Australian birds are most peculiar ; one, com- 
monly called the bower bird, builds for itself a kind of roofed and shel- 
tered pleasure-ground (see Gould's Australian Birds) ; another, the 
megapodius tumulus, constructs a nest in the form of an irregular trun- 
cated cone on an oblong base, one of which Captain Stokes found to 
measure 150 feet in circumference ; the slope of its sides being from 
eighteen to twenty-four feet, and its perpendicular height ten or twelve 
feet It was composed of earth, fragments of coral or stone, and pieces 
of stick. On examining these mounds by clearing away three or four 
feet of earth, the eggs of the bird were found, measuring eight and 
a half inches lengthwise in circumference, and six and three-quarters 
across. There was no increase of temperature in the mound. 

Reptiles. — The reptiles of Australia consist of two or three genera 
of turtles ; as many varieties of alligators, a considerable number of liz- 
ards and serpents, both venomous and harmless. The great lacertce, 
as alligators, &c, do not appear to have been found in Western Aus- 
tralia. The land-lizard, and the crimson-sided snake ( Coluber-porphy- 
riacus), are of extraordinary beauty. Serpents, also, of different species, 
have been seen floating upon the water, in chase of the curious ponquin. 
Erogs are numerous. A variety of lizard (the chlamydosaurus Kingii) 
is remarkable for a frill behind the head and above the shoulders. 

Insects. — The insects are very numerous, and many of the butter- 
flies, moths, and beetles, are brilliant and beautiful. Ljcusts abound 
in the hottest season. In swampy places mosquitoes are extremely 
troublesome, but they are scarcely known in the upper lands. Scor- 
pions and centipedes are found among dead wood. Wild bees swarm in 
many places, depositing their delicious honey in the hollow trees. Flies, 
especially the blow-fly (musca carnivora) are numerous in some dis- 
tricts. The gum-grub, an insect about six inches long, is esteemed by 
the natives a great dainty, and there are various species of ants in Aus- 
tralia, some of which are provided with wings. Ant hills have been 
found measuring thirteen feet in height, and seven at the base, tapering 
gradually to the summit. 



AUSTRALIA. To 



CHAPTER X. 

THE NEW ERA. REGENT DISCOVERIES AND THEIR RESULTS. FUTURE PROS- 
PECTS. HINTS TO EMIGRANTS, ETC. 

In the previous portion of this work, the progress and condition of the 
Colony or Colonies of Australia has been traced, and, as far as our 
space allowed, their commercial and statistical state described, up to the 
recent discoveries, when a new era commences. 

It has before been stated that many scientific men were of opinion 
that gold was extensively to be found there ; amongst others, by Sir R. 
I. Murchison ; but England having on former occasions experienced the 
baneful effects of gold-seeking in what proved to be unproductive 
regions, the idea of its existence was not encouraged, and on the con- 
trary the representations of these gentlemen, although to a certain 
extent indubitable, were rather concealed than made known to the 
public. 

DISCOVERIES IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 

In the early part of February, 1851, however, Mr. E. H. Hargrave, 
a resident of Brisbane County, lying about 100 miles N. W. of Sydney, 
chief town of New South Wales, having a short time before returned 
from California, expressed his conviction that from the similarity of the 
formation between the two places, gold must be abundant in the former. 
The subject was brought under the consideration of government, and 
Mr. Stutchbury, the geological surveyor, was dispatched to the district, 
and his report fully confirmed the statements of Mr. Hargrave. 

In spite of all attempts at suppression, the news rapidly spread, and 
the greatest apprehension prevailed throughout the colony, that the 
most disastrous consequences would ensue from the desertion of their 
own pursuits by all classes of society for the more alluring prospects of 
the gold field. 



76 AUSTKALIA. 

The researches from this time up to May seem to have been con- 
fined to the Wellington and Bathurst districts, the accounts from which 
were very satisfactory ; and in the following month (June) about one hun- 
dred fresh adventurers arrived daily at the diggings. Up to this time several 
large pieces had been found, varying in size from one ounce to three 
pounds, and one lump was found weighing seven pounds, at the Ophir 
diggings, which are several miles back from the creek. 

At the close of this month several new gold fields were discovered, 
the most prolific being the Turon, lying on the banks of that river. 
Here it was that Dr. Kerr, on the information of a black shepherd, found 
three blocks of quartz weighing about 224 lbs. : the largest of these was 
about a foot in diameter, and weighed 75 lbs. gross, and yielding 60 lbs. 
of fine gold. The pure gold from the three blocks, when weighed at 
Bathurst Bank, amounted to 106 lbs., and sold for £4,240 sterling, 
equal to $21,200. 

DISCOVERIES IN VICTORIA, OR PORT PHILLIP. 

The success of gold mining in the Bathurst and Wellington districts, 
induced the offer of large sums of money in the shape of rewards for the 
discovery of gold in other parts. This was especially the case in the 
colony of Victoria, or Port Phillip, and the search there was crowned 
with success also. 

In the month of September, gold was found at Ballarat, near G-eelong, 
and almost simultaneously it was found at Mount Alexander, seventy 
miles from Melbourne. The excitement here was much greater than at 
Sydney, owing principally to the easy distance of both places to the two 
Chief Townships ; and such was the great influx of immigration from all 
parts, that it was not unusual for hundreds of persons to arrive in one 
day; and even at this period, in one day 1000 arrived. 

PROGRESS OF EMIGRATION. 

Towards the end of the year, several vessels arrived from California 
freighted with Americans and some returned colonists. They princi- 
pally proceeded to the Turon, Ophir, and other diggings in New South 
Wales, before discovered and better known, and were eminently fortu- 
nate. At this time it was calculated that at least 30,000 men were 
spread over the large extent of country in both colonies where gold dis- 
coveries had been made. 



AUSTRALIA. 77 

A panic arising from the fears that I have before described was the 
consequence, but this has happily subsided. 

RESULTS. 

The first results of the Australian gold discoveries are now displayed 
in a tangible, unmistakable shape — individual loss, individual suffering, 
by the diversion of capital and labor. There may be many carried away 
by mere enthusiasm, who will rue the day they abandoned the certain 
easy employments of civilized life for the hard navigator-like trade of a 
gold-seeker ; but the advantage of this new mineral discovery is un- 
questionable, in spite of all that croakers may say and sing. 

Up to the middle of May, 1851, as heretofore shown, the colonial 
heart beat high with hope. Trade was good; the pastoral interests 
were flourishing ; the country properties, as a matter of course, were 
improving ; and the introduction of the alpaca, the extended culture of 
the vine, and the growth of cotton, appeared to present new and rich 
sources of wealth. At that moment came the discovery of the gold 
fields ; and a shock was communicated to the whole industrial system, 
which to some people seemed to threaten almost annihilation. The idea 
was, that gold-digging would swallow up all other pursuits, and the 
flocks perish in the wilderness from the want of shepherds. Nor was 
this altogether without foundation ; for the stockholders have actually 
been considerable sufferers: all the industrial projects mentioned have 
been stopped short ; and the gold-diggings still continue to attract to 
themselves, as if by a spell, the labor uf the country. The panic, how- 
ever, has now subsided. It is seen that the result is not so bad as was 
anticipated, and it is now rendered evident that the evil will go no fur- 
ther. A stream of population, it is thought, will be directed to Austra- 
lia from abroad, and the labor not demanded by gold may suffice for 
other pursuits. 

Already upwards of two millions sterling have been realized by the 
rude exertions of part of a population which has never yet exported more 
than three millions of raw produce; and with the evidence now before 
us, we may confidently assert, that although there will be a temporary 
diminution in the exportation of Australian wool under new arrange- 
ments, the flocks of Australia will not be destroyed. 

The Australian population have stood the test of gold wonderfully, 
and come out of the trial with honor. Their conduct, as a body, has 
been singularly orderly and submissive to the constituted authorities. 



78 AUSTKALIA. 

Two very healthy signs are displayed by the Australian diggers — 
the multiplication of marriages and the large consumption of the best 
articles of female attire. 

At Port Phillip it is impossible to retain a tidy servant girl. The 
first luxury to which the successful gold-seeker treats himself on his re- 
turn for a holiday is a wife, and the wife is then treated to the best 
gowns and shawls that the shops afford. A friend writes that " the 
carpenters and smiths of Melbourne and Geelong will not let their 
wives be seen in a gown of less cost than ten pounds, with a shawl and 
bonnet to match." 

Whatever may be the taste of the workers from the Turon or Braid- 
wood, Ballarat and Mount Alexander, it is certain that what they pur- 
chase they honestly pay for, and no one will suffer for their gains. The 
advantage, in a commercial point- of view, is obvious. The man who 
was earning before £20 or £40 a-year, of which, perhaps, he spent one- 
half in manufactures, can now afford to spend — and does spend — from 
£100 to £500 a-year. The tales of wild extravagance are grossly exag- 
gerated, and not at all to be depended upon. On the best authority, 
we can assert that the colonists are spending and investing their money 
in a very creditable manner. Among other proofs may be cited the 
circumstance of two thousand pounds received in gold-dust in less than 
seven weeks after his arrival at Port Phillip, by Captain Chisholm, from 
working men, to pay the passage of their relatives, 

Now that so strong a stream of self-paid emigration is flowing, the 
sooner the Government free emigration is given up the better for the 
mother country and for the colonies. Many a man does not save as he 
could, to pay his own passage, because he hopes to win a prize in the 
Government lottery. 

Education, and free, liberal education, is in truth the only thing re- 
quired in Australia. Education, established and extended from the 
time the May Flower landed her Puritan freight on the bleak shores of 
New England, until the time when the progress of commerce brought a 
deluge of emigrant ignorance, has saved America under a different form 
of Government, and neutralized the effect of the late annual invasion of 
the uneducated. But in Australia no such provision exists, or is possi- 
ble. And if England goes on annually inoculating the gold fields with 
illiterate strong arms, the feeble efforts made by Australia to redeem 
the errors of past educational neglect, will never be able to overtake and 
arrest the disease. 



AUSTRALIA. 79 



FUTURE PROSPECTS. 

Agricultural productions, however, are not neglected. It is interest- 
ing to notice, that preserved meats are sent from New South Wales 
to the neighboring colonies and to England in considerable quantities. 
Timber for ship building is rising in estimation in the English market. 
Australian wines maintain their character. Wool, however, is still the 
great staple ; and the Circular seems to derive some consolation from 
the idea, that if the crop should continue deficient, prices in England 
will probably be maintained. '• To anticipate the future prices for our 
staples," it says, " in a market open to so many influences as that of G-reat 
Britain, is almost impossible ; but it may be well to point out the causes 
which are likely to affect their value — especially to wool. We have 
stated that the production thereof, in New South Wales, is likely to be 
checked by the attraction of the gold diggings ; and still further, by the 
gradual abandonment of indifferent or limited runs, which formerly sup- 
ported a large number of sheep, but which will not pay to work at pre- 
sent prices of wool and labor. Therefore, if we bear in mind that Aus- 
tralia has furnished half of the entire quantity of the wools imported 
into G-reat Britain, and that the English buyers have hitherto been 
purchasing in anticipation of a large annual increase from hence, which 
for the present, at any rate, will not be forthcoming, we think we need 
be under no apprehension of lower prices than the present." 

It will be remarked, that this somewhat unfavorable report is made 
at the end of the first six months of the gold-fever. That kind of gold- 
seeking, however, which unsettles the habits of a population, and re- 
presses the other pursuits of industry, is not likely to endure very long 
in any country. It must give way in time to scientific mining, which is 
as legitimate a business as any other, and which, by the wealth it circu- 
lates, will tempt men into new avenues of industry, and recruit, to any 
extent that may be desirable, the supply of labor. Hitherto that supply 
has come in inadequate quantities, or from polluted sources ; but we 
have now precisely what the colony wanted — a stream of voluntary 
emigration, which, in process of time, when skilled labor only can be 
employed, will flood the diggings, and its superfluous portions find their 
level in the other employments afforded by the country. That this will 
take place without the inconvenience of a transition period, is not 
to be expected ; but, upon the whole, we look upon the present depres- 
sion of the legitimate trade of the colony as merely a temporary evil. 



80 AUSTRALIA. 

arising out of circumstances that are destined to work well for its even- 
tual prosperity. 

The same process, it should be observed, has already been gone 
through in California. The lawless adventurers who rushed to the gold, 
fields from all parts of the world subsided gradually into order from 
mere motives of self-preservation ; and as the precious metal disap- 
peared from the surface, multitudes were driven by necessity or policy 
into employments more remunerative than digging. The large mining 
population — the producers of gold — became the consumers of goods ; 
markets of all kinds were opened for their supply ; emporia of trade 
rose along the coast; and a country that so recently was almost a 
desert, now promises to become one of the greatest marts of the com- 
merce of the world. If this has been the case in California, the process 
will be much easier in A'ls-tralia, where the rudiments of various busi- 
nesses already exist, and where the staple articles of produce are such 
as can hardly be \ ushe I to a superfluous extent. 

The true calamity, however, under which the fixed colonists, the 
producers of the staples, suppose themselves to suffer, is the change oc- 
casioned in the price of labor by the g< lden prospects of the diggings. 
On this question there is always considered to be two antagonistical 
interests — that of the employers, and that of the employed ; the former 
contending for the minimum, and the latter for the maximum rate. But 
this is a fallacy. The interest of the two is identical ; and for these ob- 
vious reasons, that if wages be too high, the capitalist must cease to 
produce and to employ ; and if too low, the working population must 
sink to the position of unskilled laborers at home, and eventually bring 
about that very state of society from which emigration is sought as an 
escape. In supposing their interests to be antagonistical, the one party 
reasons as badly as the other ; but somehow, there always attaches to 
the bad reasoning of the employed a stigma of criminality, from which 
that of the other is frea. This is unjust enough in England, but in 
Australia it is ridiculous. A capitalist goes out, provided with a sum 
so small as to be altogether useless at home as a means of permanent 
support, but which, in the colony, he expects, with proper management, 
to place him for the rest of his life in a position of almost fabulous pros- 
perity. These cheering views, however, he confines to his own class. 
The measure of his happiness will not be full unless he can find cheap 
labor, as well as magnificent returns. For this desideratum he will 
make any sacrifice. He will take your paupers, your felons — your 
rattlesnakes ; any thing in the shape of a drudge, who will toil for mere 



AUSTRALIA. 81 

subsistence, and without one of the social compensations which render 
toil in England almost endurable. 

We need never be sorry to hear of the high price of labor in coun- 
tries where the employers live in ease and independence; and join 
heartily in the counsel to the higher class of working-men in this 
country given by Mr. Burton in his Emigrant, 1 s Manual — 'never to 
confound a large labor-market with good sources of employment.' It 
does not appear to be one of the least of the benefits that will accrue 
after convalescence from the gold-fever in Australia, the higher value 
the employed will set upon their labor. We must not, as has been done, 
reason from the English standard, which has not been deliberately fixed. 
but forced by competition, excessive population, public burdens, and the 
necessities of social position. In a new country, however, where all 
these circumstances are absent, and whither employers and employed 
resort alike for the purpose of bettering their condition, traditions should 
be cast aside and the fabric of society erected on a new basis. 

Mr. Hunt, the keeper of Mining Records at the Museum of Practi- 
cal Geology, London, in a recent lecture on the precious metals, states : — 

" That there are abundant historical evidences to show there is an 
order in the respective discoveries of gold deposits which approaches to 
something like a law of distribution ; and the study of the facts which 
history affords leads to the inference that it is improbable any very ex- 
tensive commercial changes will arise from the discovery of extraor- 
dinary quantities of gold in Australia. California, or elsewhere." 

It has been estimated by some that 23.000,000/. of gold and silver 
will be added to our store of precious metals this year. This appears 
to be one of the exaggerated statements arising out of the fever of the 
day. We shall not receive more than 11,000,000/. from the United 
States, California, and Australia; and if we receive 3,000,000/. more 
from all the other sources of supply, it will be as much as we may ex- 
pect. Many former sources of supply are cut off, and the probability is 
that we shall not receive nearly so large a quantity. Let us examine 
briefly the rate of produce in the Australian mines : — 

The Sydney district produced, from 29th May, 1851, to 31st October. 
1851, 67,152 oz., of gold, value 214,886/. ; to Nov. 10, 1851, 79,340 oz.. 
257,855/. 7s. ; to Dec. 31, 1851, 142,975 oz., 464,668/. 15s. 

In the Victoria district, to the end of December. 1851, JBallarat pro- 
duced 25,108 oz., value 75,324/. ; Mount Alexander, 30,007 oz., 96,021/. 
In December, there was shipped from Victoria, 145,116 oz. ; on the 8th 
January, 75,188 oz. 



82 



AUSTEALIA. 



Only about two-fifths of the gold realized is sent by the Government 
escort ; hence there is much difficulty in arriving at the actual amount. 
But the imports to this country may be safely relied on as representing 
the maximum produce of our colonial gold fields and the auriferous 
districts of America. The question has arisen — May we expect the 
price of gold to be lessened from the influx of this metal? Annexed 
are some of the rates of value of a pound troy of gold at different 
periods : — - 



Year. 
1344 
1345 
1347 
1412 
1464 
15-16 



VALUE OF THE TEOY POUND OF GOLD. 

Year. 
1549 
16C5 
16-26 
1718 
1817 



£. 


s. 


d. 


15 








13 


3 


4 


14 








16 


13 


14 


20 


16 


8 


27 









£. 


s. 


d. 




34 










40 


10 







44 


10 







46 


14 


6 




46 


14 


6 




5 gold of 


our 



which is the price at which fine gold still eontinues- 
standard being at 3/. 17s. 9d. 

The arguments relative to the currency and the alteration in the 
standard of value go somewhat beyond my subject. I give you facts 
which may be relied on, and, with these, I must leave others better 
acquainted with commercial economy than myself to deal. Howbeit, 
let it not be forgotten that the exportation of coin from England is 
rapidly increasing, and the English sovereign is becoming every year 
more extended as a means of exchange. Formerly the Spanish dollar 
passed everywhere, and now the English sovereign is taken as current 
coin over three-fourths of the globe ; and its exportation keeps pace 
with the importation of raw gold. 

From November, 1850, to June, 1851, the Bank of England issued 
9,500,000 sovereigns, being at the rate of 18,000,000 a-year ; and so 
great is the demand for our gold coins, that Sir John Herschel informs 
me since November last there have been coined at the Mint 3,500,000 
sovereigns and half-sovereigns, and the rate of production can scarcely 
keep pace with the increasing demand. This must have a material in- 
fluence in maintaining that stability which is desirable in our standard 
of value. 

It may be interesting to know that from a very correct account kept 
at the Bank, when the light coin was called in in 1842, that 12,000,000/. 
were received light, and that 36,000,000/. still circulated of full weight ; 
40,000,000/. may therefore be regarded as the quantity of gold coin in 



AUSTEALIA. 



83 



circulation, allowing from 3 to four per cent, for the natural wear of the 
coin. 

The following table gives, over an extended period, the coinage of 
Great Britain : — 



Reign of 


No. of 
Vears. 


Gold. 


Silver. 


Total Money. 


James I 


22 


£3,666,389 


£1,807,277 


£5,473,666 


diaries I. 


35 


3,465,188 


9,776,544 


13,241,732 


Charles II. 


22 


4,177,253 


3,722,180 


7.899.433 


James IT. ... 


4 


2,113,638 


2,115,115 


4,228,753* 


William and Mary . 


12 


2,314,889 


7,093.074 


9.434.963 


Anne .... 


13 


2,484,531 


618,212 


3,102.743 


George I. 


14 


8,492,876 


233,045 


8.725,921 


George II. 


37 


11.662.216 


304.360 


11,966,576 


George III. . 


61 


75,753,443 


6,996,765 


82,750,206 


George IV. . 


9 


36,147,700 


2,216,168 


38,363,868 


William IV. . 


7 


14,000,000 


2,800,000 


? 


Victoria : 










1837 to 1841 . 


4 


4.991,210 


889,102 


5,880,312 


1842 to 1847 . 


5 


29,886,457 


2,450,614 


32,327,071 



Total coinage of thirty-two years, ending 1847: — £90,029.383 in 
gold; £13,590,000 in silver; and £248.210 in copper. 

ADVICE TO INTENDENT EMIGRANTS. 

Mr. John Fairfax, editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, in a lecture' 
lately delivered in England, says : 

" To the young man of industrious and sober habits and of moral 
character, whose anxiety is to pursue a course of honest perseverance 
unappalled by difficulty and danger — I say, go. To the idle, the dissi- 
pated, the drunken — he who is reckless alike of his own peace and the 
sorrow he causes to others — I say, stay ; for if you goto a warm climate 
and persevere in your present habits, you will be an outcast, you will 
die miserably. The two great wants of the colonies are capital and 
labor. For these employment on a large scale is constantly being pre- 
sented. There are mines of wealth only waiting investments, and 
requiring men to work them. The railroad company have advertised 
for 200 men ; and in a recent letter from the president of that company, 
he informs me that the contractor contemplates giving up the contract 



* This included £1,596,799 of base money coined for Ireland. 



54 AUSTEALIA. 

in consequence of being unable to obtain men. The Bathurst Copper 
Mining Company, in the Herald of April 17th, advertises for 100 men. In 
the southern district a copper mine has been discovered ; th<: ore has been 
transmitted to England for smelting, and it has been pronounced equal in 
yield to the Burra Burra. This is also at a stand. The Fitzroy Iron Mining 
Company is in a similar position. It is situate at Mittagong, on the 
great southern road, within 70 miles of Sydney, and extends over a sur- 
face of about 12 acres. It is doubtless of volcanic formation, as three dis- 
tinct mounds, or craters, appear, and the lava (iron ore), instead of the 
general pumice-stone, flows from each mound of a depth from 6 to 10 
feet. The yield of this mine is remarkable. When smelted the ore 
produces steel of a most superior character. [The lecturer exhibited 
specimens of the ore in its original state, and of the metal in its manu- 
factured state ] These facts are enough to show that capital and labor 
are required. My advice, however, I may be permitted to tender to 
two or three classes. To the masters or workmen who are doing well 
in England, I suggest the old motto, ' Let well alone.' But if you are 
struggling with difficulties, which appear unconquerable, wind up your 
affairs and try the colonies. There we are not so thick upon the ground, 
and with the primes t beef at 2d., and mutton at l|d., you cannot, you 
need not, starve. Not that I would hold out the expectation of success 
without exertion — of fortune without the appliances of industry— or of 
the quiet repose of old age without thrift and care in early and middle 
life. The ' battle of life' must be fought lustily and bravely on both 
sides the world. And moral worth is as valuable and as highly prized 
•there as here. The openings for the agricultural laborer, and the 
master or journeyman tradesman, are astonishing. I will only mention 
■one instance ; it was told me by the Bev. Mr. Makenzie. a fellow pas- 
senger from Sydney to England, and I am sure is only a specimen of 
the increase in the price of all kinds of handicraft. He says, ' happening 
to break part of the harness of one of the horses I was driving, I desired 
my servant to carry the broken part to a saddler's shop, in order to get 
it mended. I accompanied the man. We travelled from shop to shop 
till we had visited three or four of them, before we found a man in any 
of them ; all the men having gone to the diggings, the shops were left 
under the charge of their wives or daughters. At last we reached a 
saddler's shop, in which I saw a little boy of 9 or 10 years of age, woo 
said he thought he could mend the broken harness, and he did so in a few 
minutes ; I stood looking at him while at work, and when he had finished, 
I asked him what was to pay, expecting that he would say, Is. His 



AUSTRALIA. 85 

reply, however, was ' Half-a-crown sir, if you please.' I said, ' That is 
a very high charge, my little boy, for the few stitches it only cost you.' 
'But, sir,' said this pocket edition of human nature, ' you must consider 
that all the men have gone to the diggings, and that we who stay at 
home to do the work of the public must charge accordingly.' The logic 
was conclusive ; my mouth was stopped, and my purse was opened. I 
paid the 2s 6d. and went away, convinced that those who stay at home 
and stick to their trades will largely participate in the profits of the 
gold digger. In January last I was paying 30s. a week, or at the rate 
of £78 a year, with board, to a bullock- driver, whom I could have hired 
last year at about £30 a year. When this man's time with me expired, 
he was offered £3 a week, or at the rate of £156 a year, with board, for 
driving bullocks between Melbourne and Mount Alexander. I know a 
journeyman carpenter who was at the same time offered £4 a week, with 
board and constant employment, which he refused — then went to the 
diggings. In England there is a large class of young men, who are 
well educated, but are not brought up to any business pursuits. Many 
of this class make their way to the colonies. They bring letters of 
introduction to respectable and wealthy people — often to the governor 
— and imagine their fortunes are made. Poor fellows ! Any well 
instructed colonist can see with half an eye that they are unfit for hard 
work, and therefore necessarily unfit for the colony. Often persons 
such as these are returned home to their parents, like unsaleable bales 
of merchandise ; and too frequently, alas ! they remain to disgrace their 
name, to ruin their character, and to debauch their lives. ' Eng- 
land is a nation of shop-keepers,' said Napoleon. Be it so, rather than 
it should be composed of men unfit and disqualified to obey the mandate % 
' that man should eat his bread by the sweat of his brow.' ' Ships, 
colonies, commerce,' is our motto, but that motto is a foul blot upon our 
young empire, unless it be sanctioned and upheld by enterprise, earnest- 
ness, and unconquerable zeal. The above remarks respecting educated 
young men without trade or profession do not apply in all cases. Ar- 
dor, intelligence, and industry, will do any thing for a man who is left 
to his own resources : and I have known cases where such persons have 
overcome almost innumerable difficulties. There is another and a large 
class — dividing itself into seamstresses and general female servants — 
to whom I would briefly say, in Australia you are wanted ; and if you 
land virtuous and' respectable, you may soon settle down the wives of 
honest and intelligent men." 

The following extract from Mr. Charles Dickens's popular work 



86 AUSTRALIA. 

entitled " Household Words," contains much useful and practical infor- 
mation, conveyed in his peculiar quaint and attractive style, under the 
title of 

WHAT TO TAKE TO AUSTRALIA. 

The great majority of the army of emigrants who are now wildly 
rushing to Australia, know no more about the proper preparations and 
the qualities and arrangements essential for comfort on a four months' 
voyage, than they do of working a steam-engine, or selecting the tools 
for an engineer's shop, In a little book just published — " Murray's 
G-uide to the G-old Diggings" — are some useful hints on outfit and pas- 
sage, which we quote with additions from a practical and experienced 
source. 

The common practice of an intending emigrant is to discard all he 
has, and set out with a bran new stock of every thing. The reverse is 
the better plan. " Begin by mustering what you have got, and see how 
much will do." A single man should be in light marching order, and 
should endeavor to take no more clothes than he could, at a pinch, 
make up in a bundle and carry, groaning, on his back for a mile. 

A family should take no cumbrous furniture, no pianos, no mangles, 
unless proceeding to settle near friends in a sea-port of the colonies, 
where labor has become too dear to pay for making chairs and tables. 
A chair that folds up flat may be useful for " mamma," so may a light 
metal bedstead ; knives and forks, pewter plates and teapots will be 
useful on the voyage, and in town or bush ; so will plated articles, and 
many little household things that weigh little, take up no great room, 
and sell for nothing at an auction. 

Beware of ingenious costly cabin fittings ; consult some experienced 
sea-going friend ; half the articles that look tempting in a show-room 
are useless at sea. It is well for a family party to have just enough to 
enable them to enter the first suitable empty house in Melbourne or 
Sydney, and commence house-keeping at once, with a trunk for a seat 
and a tea-chest for a table. But persons going to the interior should 
remember that carriage is dear at all times. Three pounds were paid 
in December for half a horse load, for thirty miles — to the Shoalhaven 
diggings over a mountain track. 

Every party of not less than four should take a small three-pole 
tent without the poles. A workman may take his tools ; a digger a 
navvy's spade, a pick, and a heavy crowbar ; but cradles and carts, and 
all the heavy paraphernalia, recommended in ironmongers' lists, are 



' 



AUSTKALIA. 87 

better bought in the colony, to which first-rate merchants are 
largely shipping from the advices of their own correspondents. Half 
such outfits will be found useless, and half the remainder unserviceable. 
Clothes are nearly as cheap in the colonies as in England. They should 
be selected with a view to very cold as well as warm weather. The 
mining districts are subject to snow, sleet, and torrents of rain. A large 
loose coat of the best pilot cloth, made after the fashion of a soldier's 
great-coat down to the heels, with a large waterproof cape, loose sleeves, 
and capacious pockets inside, is a capital travelling companion. For 
Bush travelling, a full sized blanket is indispensable. 

On board ship any old trowsers, if warm or light enough, according 
to the weather, will do. Shoes without heels on board. In the colonies 
good strong Wellington boots of the best materials, and not too light. 
Waterproof boots are a mistake ; the water comes in at the top, and 
stays there until let out by a hole. In the Bush, and at the Diggings, 
woollen Jerseys, blue or red, are the wear, and blue-striped shirts, where 
woollen is not worn. In the chief towns of Australia, gentlemen dress 
exactly as they do in England, allowing for the difference of the climate, 
and, except boots, the prices are about the same. Both woollen and cot- 
ton stockings are needed. Hats can be bought in the colony cheap 
enough ; two caps, one to be blown away, will be sufficient for the voy- 
age. The following is the lowest scale of outfit required by the Govern- 
ment commissioners from free passengers : 



FOR MALES. 

Six shirts, 
Six pairs stockings, 
Two ditto shoes, 

Two complete suits of exterior cloth- 
fag, 



FOR FEMALES. 

Six shifts, 

Two flannel petticoats, 
Six pairs stockings, 
Two ditto shoes, 
Two gowns, 



Towels and soap. 

And they supply each emigrant in return for the deposit of one or two 
pounds, with a mattress, bolster, blankets, counterpane, canvas bag, knife, 
fork, and drinking mug. 

In the Family Colonization Society's sjaips closets are provided with 
cisterns, pumps, and taps, in which, with marine soap, the emigrants 
can wash their clothes without being seen. This saves each emigrant 
at least thirty shillings in outfit — for two pair of stockings will, for ex- 
ample, do for the voyage — and should be universally adopted, as an 
extra five shillings a head on the passage-money would pay the ship- 
owner and be cheap to the emigrants. Each passenger is also required 



AUSTKALIA. 



to provide a mattrass three feet by six feet for a double bed, and two 
feet by six feet for a single bed ; and the following articles : — 



Knife and fork, 
Table and tea-spoons, 
Metal plate, 
Hook pot, 
Drinking mug, 
Water-can, 
Washing-basin, 
Two cabbage-nets, 
One scrubbing-brush, 
Half-a-gallon of sand, 



Half a bath-brick, 

Two sheets of sand-paper, 

Two coarse canvas aprons, 

Hammer, 

Tacks, 

Leathern straps, with buckle, to secure 
the beds neatly on deck, when requir- 
ed to be aired, 

Three pounds of marine soap, 



all of which, except the sand Bath-brick, and scrubbing-brush, will be 
requisite for every steerage or intermediate passenger in private ships. 
The hammer and tacks, with a few yards of list, are most useful. It 
must be remembered that at sea every thing not made fast with cords or 
nails rolls about. 

Luggage should be divided thus : First — Not Wanted on Yoyage J 
and so marked in large letters, packed in sound, watertight cases or bar- 
rels. Second — Wanted on Yoyage ; so marked, and will be hauled on 
deck, for which cording or handle is needful, about once every fortnight. 
Third — For Use in Cabin or Berth ; for this last purpose, a bag of 
leather, or two small boxes easily lifted, will be found most convenient. 

As to ships and stores, we may state that good ships sail from all our 
ports, and bad ones. First see that the ship is classed in Lloyd's Reg- 
ister A 1, or at any rate not lower than JE in red ink ; or, as it is called, 
the red diphthong. Ships not so classed may be fit for dry or damp car- 
goes but not for live souls. There is no especial advantage in a very 
large ship over a moderate size — say from five hundred to seven hun- 
dred tons register — if there be a height of not less than six feet between 
decks, seven feet being better. Ships are sometimes advertised so many 
tons burthen, instead of register; this is a mere clap-trap deception- 
Tons burthen refer to cargoes of coal, or ore packed in bulk ; tons reg- 
ister are the measurement affecting live freight. The next point is ven- 
tilation. Taking a berth in a ship to Australia is like taking apartments 
with no exit for four months. No man would consent to live for four 
months in a room without a window, and without a chimney for the es- 
cape of foul air. Many fine ships go to sea with passengers, whose 
berths have no windows; that is to say, in sea language, scuttles open- 
ing upon them, and no air-pipes, so that when the hatchways are shut 



AUSTRALIA. 



89 



down, in rough weather, the passengers stand the risk of being, if not 
quite stifled, half poisoned. 

By a very simple contrivance at a trifling expense, pipes may be, and 
are in some ships, arranged to bring in the pure air and carry off the 
foul air of two hundred souls, eating, drinking, and sleeping ' ; down 
stairs," as ladies call the 'tween decks. Attention to this point is essential 
to the health of passengers, but especially to that of young children — 
and young children are great incentives to emigration. Ships carrying- 
Patent Fuel and other foul cargoes, are not healthy for intermediate 
passengers — as proved by an arrival last year in Adelaide of a ship-load 
of sick passengers. 

As to provisions, there is the greatest possible difference, and the 
passengers must trust much to the respectability of the ship-owners and 
to competition. For from twenty to twenty-five pounds, something 
equal to the following ought to be supplied, all of the best quality : — 



Weekly Dietary Scale for each Full- Groiun Pei 



son. 



Biscuit, . . 
Beef, . . . 
Pork, . . . 
Preserved meat 
Soup bouilli, . 
Fish. . . . 
Flour, . . . 
Raisins, . . 
Preserved fruit, 
Suet, . . - 
Peas, . . . 
Rice, . . . 
Preserved potatoes 
Carrots. . . . 



per week, 3 lbs. 



do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 



do 



3* " 
i" 
i" 
6 oz. 

| of a pint. 

do. fib. 

do. £ " 

do. i " 



Tea, . 

Coffee, 

Sugar, 

Treacle, 

Butter, 

Cheese, 

Oatmeal, 

Lime juice, 

Pickles, 

Mustard 

Salt, . 

Pepper, 

Water, 

Ditto, each Infant, 



ier 


week 


H oz 




do. 


2 " 




do. 


fib. 




do. 


i " 




do. 


* ;: 




do. 


4 




do. 


2 oz. 




do. 


1 pill 




do. 


1 ' ; 




do. 


i oz. 




do. 


2 " 




do. 


i ' : 


do. 


5 gal 


s. 1 qt 


■al. 


3 qts 





A wicker-covered stone or glass bottle will be found handy for keep- 
ing the supply of water. Thirst is better removed by washing out the 
mouth and lips than by drinking, when water is scarce. Fathers of 
families, when making bargains for their children, must take care, or 
they will get only half or quarter-rations for grown boys and girls, 
and the same space for the same proportion of price. In the tropics, 
the children are constantly crying for drink. 

A written engagement with the broker is advisable, specifying the 
name of ship ; date at which it is to sail from London and Plymouth, 
or other port ; the exact berth or cabin ; and the scale of provisions. 



90 AUSTKALIA. 

and the quantity of luggage allowed, exclusive of the space in the cabin 
or berth, which ought not to be charged for. All this, if settled with a 
respectable broker, will save many disputes. Parties have been put to 
much expense by being compelled to stay, day after day, at the port of 
embarkation at a hotel or lodging, after the date fixed by advertise- 
ment for the sailing of the ship. The amount of luggage allowed each 
passenger is calculated by superficial feet, a mysterious mode of measure- 
ment to the uninitiated. Some brokers include in the allowance of lug- 
gage that carried in the cabin : — a most unjustifiable charge, under 
which a gentleman lately found a man in his cabin measuring not only 
his cot and violin-case, but his packets of lamp candles. 

It is as well to visit the ship before any of your luggage is sent on 
board, and see that all is as agreed upon : persons going on board at the 
last moment have found their chosen berths in the possession of a 
stranger, and themselves condemned to a sort of Black-hole, without air 
or light. Second class and steerage passengers should see that they 
have some room for exercise after the cabin passengers and cargo have 
been attended to. In some ships no space is left. An airy cabin for a 
hospital is an essential point. 

Among extra stores for comfort on the voyage, it is well to name 
effervescing powders, a few pickles, a bottle of really good lime juice 
(that usually supplied to emigrants is horrible stuff), a few boxes of sar- 
dines, or anchovies or potted herrings, and a little tea and sugar of the 
best quality, for use when the cook or steward is not ready to serve 
any out. 

On the day the ship sails there is often so much confusion, and the 
cook is frequently so drunk, that there are no meals to be had : it is 
therefore well to provide a sort of pic-nic provision in a basket for the 
first day's dinner and supper. 

"With these precautions, good temper, good nature, and a quiet 
tongue, the voyage to Australia may be made pleasantly and economi- 
cally. 



AUSTKALIA. 91 



CHAPTER XL 



LATEST INTELLIGENCE. 



THE LARGEST LUMP OF GOLD. 



The largest jet found in Australia is that called (on account of its 
size) t: the King of Nuggets," from Forest Creek, Mount Alexander, in 
the colony of Victoria, weighing 27 lbs. 6 oz. 15 dwts. This lump, un- 
like the majority, contains no quartz, but is a massive- lump of pure 
gold of a very fine color. It is eleven inches in length and five in 
breadth, at the widest part. It was shipped, together with a very large 
consignment of gold, on board the barque i: Posthumus," by Mr. Jo- 
seph Herring, of Port Phillip, to Messrs. Herring of London, England. 



GOVERNMENT RETURNS. 



It appears by a blue-book just printed, by order of the House of 
Commons, that the total quantity of gold transmitted by the Govern- 
ment escort from the various workings in Australia, from the 30th 
Sept. to 31st Dec, 1851, amounted to 124,135 ounces, or equivalent to 
£374,505. It is calculated that not more than two-fifths of the gold re- 
alized at the workings is forwarded by escort. The amount paid to the 
Government for licenses to work, at the rate of £1 10s. per month, up 
to the 3 1st Dec, 1851, was £25,481 19s. The sum paid for escort fees 
to the crown, at £1 per cent., was £3,634 17s. 

WAGES. 

The following quotations of the labor market in Australia may be 
interesting. Accounts are from Melbourne, dated 22d April, and state 
that, although the supply of labor during the month had been somewhat 
better than for a long time previous, yet still it did not equal the de- 
mand. The following rates of wages were readily paid, with rations : — 



92 AUSTRALIA. 

Married couples without families, £50 to £60 ; ditto with family, £45 
to £50 ; shepherds, £33 to 35 ; hutkeepers, £28 to £30 ; general use- 
ful help. £36 to £40 ; bullock drivers, £40 to £50 ; gardeners, £33 to 
£36 ; cooks, £40 to £50 , bush carpenters, £35 to £40 ; house carpen- 
ters, £50 to £60 ; grooms, £40 to £50 ; stockkeepers, £30 to £35 ; 
milkmen, £28 to £30; ploughmen, £50 ; horseshoers and wheelwrights, 
£1 per diem. 

Female Help: — Housemaids, £16 to £20; cooks, £20 to £22; 
laundresses, £18 to £22; nursemaids, £12 to £15; nursery governesses 
or needlewomen, £15 to £18. 

GOLD PRODUCTIONS. 

The latest intelligence from Sydney and Melbourne is to the 17th 
of April. 

The last escort had brought in from Mount Alexander, 12,873 
ounces ; and from Ballarat, 925 ounces of gold. The Sydney Morning 
Herald correspondent at the former place, says : — 

'•<■ To give any thing like an accurate guess at the daily amount of 
gold raised would be absolutely impossible, for it is so variable that the 
return of one day is no guide whatever to that of another. Besides this, 
fully two-thirds of the diggers are unable to wash as they would do if 
there were plenty of water in the creek. Many of these are now em- 
ployed at dry digging, or nuggeting as it is called here, in holes already 
sunk, saving perhaps a little of the choicest earth, which they bring 
home with them to wash in a tin dish, and setting aside the likely-look- 
ing stuff for the time when the cradle can be brought into operation. 
These are just making enough to clear themselves, with perhaps a trifle 
to spare, looking forward to the rainy season to pay them. Others 
again are prospecting, or sinking holes in the various gullies which give 
a promise of gold ; many of them have been eminently successful, and 
many localities have deen discovered which will turn out a very large 
amount of gold when water shall be more plentiful. Thus all are in 
good heart, knowing well that with the first fall of rain a rich harvest 
awaits them. Even as it is now, every man may obtain a good day's 
wages if he choose to stick hard to work, with of course the chance of 
falling upon a pocket if he should be in luck. Thus it is that the 
amount of gold procured still continues so large." 

The Bathurst paper mentions that, although fewer in number the 
diggers were certainly more prosperous than at any previous time, and 



AUSTRALIA. 03 

a larger amount of licenses had been obtained than in any previous 
month. 

" In every case .where common industry was exercised, good wages 
were obtained by the Tuena diggers, but large earnings were by no 
means uncommon. Many parties were making two to four ounces of 
gold per day. Mr. Lee's party had been making sometimes three and 
frequently four ounces per day on Sheep Station Point, and others were 
equally successful. Since Tuena had been made a police station, matters 
had proceeded much more peaceably than was formerly the case. Al- 
though not suppressed, sly grog-selling was conducted in a more stealthy 
manner, and public decency a little more respected. Mr. Fox, chief 
constable of Carcoar, accompanied by one or two of his subordinates, 
visited the place a short time ago, and squared accounts with a few of 
the illicit tapsters." 

The following extracts will show the state of things in other dis- 
tricts : — 

' ; The Wentworth G-old Fields. — A short time ago, Mr. Stutch- 
bury, the G-overnment geologist, paid a visit to the 'Wentworth Gold 
Fields,' and in consequence of the observations made by him, with 
reference to the probable richness of that portion of Mr. Wentworth's 
estate which adjoins the land belonging to the Wentworth G-old 
Company, Mr. Daniel was induced to prospect it, and the result is highly 
encouraging. There can be no doubt of the existence of other rich 
digging grounds, perhaps equally rich with those already proved and 
appropriated. The specimens obtained by working with a cradle are 
precisely similar in character to the gold produced by the Company's 
ground. The small grains show by their flattened state and rounded 
outline, that they are found in their original place of deposit. The 
promulgation of the above intelligence has created a little excitement 
amongst the residents of Frederick's Yalley, numbers of whom have 
made application to Mr. Daniel for permission to work the ground upon 
the halves ; but, until instructions upon the subject have been received 
from Mr. Wentworth, no licenses will be issued. As a proof that gold 
is not necessarily the root of evil, I may mention that since its discovery 
in this neighborhood, a decided improvement is observable in the cir- 
cumstances of the small settling class. They evidently possess in greater 
abundance than formerly, both the necessaries and comforts of life, and 
it is with pleasure I state it, that their moral condition also is improved. 
A strong disposition is beginning to manifest itself to expend their sav- 
ings in the purchase of small farms as homesteads-, several 40 and 50 



91 AUSTKALIA. 

acre patches having latterly been bought by lucky gold diggers. This 
is a sign of the times which cannot be misinterpreted." 

" Long Creek. — A respectable individual, who Jias spent a consider- 
able portion of his time since the gold discovery about the Louisa and 
Meroo Creeks, and their tributaries, thus speaks of the diggings at Long 
Creek, one of the 'feeders' of the Meroo: — ' There are 500 to 600 peo- 
ple digging hereabouts, at the very least, within a comparatively small 
compass, all doing well. The least unfortunate amongst us, if at all in- 
dustrious, can make his £1 per day, and many are earning a great deal 
more. I do not mean to assert for a single moment, that there are not 
unlucky men amongst us, nor that claims are not sometimes opened 
which prove unremunerative. Plenty of men arrive here, try their luck 
for a day or two, and if unsuccessful, fly off elsewhere. We have also 
a few schemers and loungers amongst us, who have a constitutional an- 
tipathy to hard work, and live I can't say how. Sly grog-selling is an 
easy way of making money, and one very much preferred to digging, by 
the scheming and reprobate class. But to the industrious, persevering, 
honest workman, who prefers trusting to his own strong arms rather 
than to trickery or scheming for a maintenance, there is a certain pros- 
pect of success. Near where I am working there are some splendid 
claims. My own party have been making 6, 7, and 8 ounces of gold a day 
for some time — sometimes certainly less. I have just sold my share of 
gold, obtained since we last divided, for £93. We have to cart our 
stuff a short distance to water. Out of one load we have just procured 
3 ounces, and this is by no means unusual with us. A claim is reckoned a 
very poor one here which does not turn out 2 ounces to each party. Some 
men who have no other means of conveying the earth to the creek, carry 
it in bags on their backs; but this is a very toilsome and unprofitable 
process. Working singly in this manner, they earn from \ to ^ an 
ounce daily. As ours are all bank claims, we possess a great advantage 
over the Turon diggers, the floods doing us good instead of harm. 
There are no bed claims here ; they won't pay for working. A few 
of the diggers -tried, but as none of them did any good, the attempt has 
not been renewed. In some cases a great depth of earth, what is usually 
termed ' top-stuff,' has to be thrown off before you reach the gold. In 
our present claim, we did not get a pennyworth until we had sunk four- 
teen feet, and came upon the deposit, after which we frequently procured 
5s. worth of gold in a single tin-dish of earth. Not far distant from 
this is a place which goes by the name of Spicer's Creek, upon which 
there are a good many now at work and doing well. I was the first 



AUSTRALIA. 95 

discoverer of gold in that quarter, and was in solitary possession of the 
secret for five weeks, during which, myself digging, and my wife rocking 
the cradle, we made £263. Our secrecy was finally invaded, the length 
of our stay having created a suspicion that we must be doing a first-rate 
stroke, and in a couple of days some two hundred diggers were down 
upon us, tearing up the earth in all directions. Grog-shops are not only 
numerous but numberless at Long Creek, and a rare business some of 
them are doing. They carry on their traffic unmolested, and are seldom 
troubled by that patriotic and disinterested class of officials yclept 
'blue-bottles.' I will conclude by expressing my opinion that the dig- 
gings hereabouts will continue profitable for a long time. There are 
lots of country of the same character as our present digging-grounds yet 
untouched." 

That the fullest and most satisfactory proofs may be afforded to the 
public of the state of the colonies, we quote the latest official circulars. 

MR. GEORGE A. FLOYD'S SYDNEY GOLD CIRCULARS, 

" The water of the Turon has not yet gone down sufficiently to admit 
of the bed-claims being worked. Some of the diggers are employed in 
washing the river-drift, which is now nearly exhausted. Good dry dig- 
gings have been discovered opposite to the end of a range call j. I Ration 
Hill, where a great number of holes ara bei ig sunk, and some of the 
parties look forward to considerable success. The richest of these claims 
has been known to yield 10 ounces per da} r . Sheep Station Point is 
nearly deserted, and tents are daily disappearing from the Upper Wal- 
laby, the diggers leaving by scores for irt Hole Creek, Tamberoora 
and Meroo, where fresh claims are being opened with every prospect of 
remu era ion. 

" About thirty-five miles from Golbourne a mine has been discov- 
ered at Maroora ong, on a farm belonging to Mr. D. H. Thorne. The 
gold was found at the depth of twelye et, and continued to increase as 
they went lo ver down. About eight men are engaged, and making 
from 3 to 4 ounces per week : and it is stated that in one panful 
of earth, they found a turquoise and a ruby. 

;i Near the head of Tamberoora, a number of deep shafts have been 
sunk with satisfactory results ; the water is, however, scarce, and dams 
for its reservation are being constructed at great expense, to prevent the 
necessity which now exists of carting the soil to the various water-holes 
for the purpose of washing. A man from this district yesterday 



yb AUSTRALIA. 

received £189 on the sale of his gold, as his share of three weeks' 
labor. 

" A rich gold-field appears to exist on General Stewart's estate, 
about four miles from Bathurst, which will no doubt be worked to 
advantage as soon as labor becomes more plentiful. A man named 
Lawrence Byrnes, with his mate, worked ten hours, and got 14 dwts. of 
gold, in value about two guineas; but because they could not find it in 
ounces, they left the spot, stating themselves not satisfied with such a 
poor return for their labor. This fact expresses, more significantly 
than a volume of words, the value of our mines. About 500 people are 
working on Long Creek, a tributary of the Meroo ; they are all com- 
paratively in a small compass, and the principal portion of them are 
doing well; the least fortunate, if at all industrious, can earn 20s- per 
day, and the majority much more. One party has been making from 
6 ounces to 8 ounces per day, although the soil has to be carted a 
considerable distance to be washed. It is not at all unusual to find 3 
ounces of gold in one cart-load of soil, and a claim here is reckoned very 
poor if it will not yield two ounces per day to a party. At Tuena, the 
diggers are not so numerous as they were, but their success appears 
greater ; good wages are obtained with common indusky, and large 
earnings (say from 2 to 4 ounces per day) are by no means rare. 

" The Braidwood mines still continue to yield their glittering treas- 
ure, without any apparent diminution. The old digging localities are 
not yet exhausted ; and new discoveries are occasionally made. 380 
licenses have been taken out this month on Major's Creek. His Excel- 
lency the Governor, during his visit to this district, purchased a quartz 
nugget, about 8 ounces, and another sample at Inverlochy, for the pur- 
pose of adding them to his cabinet specimens of Australian gold. 

" Parties are allowed to work here for one month, without paying 
any license fee to the proprietor. 

" We have been favored by a highly respectable house in town with 
a sight of half an ounce of gold, from a new mine which is just opened 
out at Blakeness Creek, about 14 miles from Yass. It is evidently very 
pure, and of a different description to either the Turon, Ophir, or Braid- 
wood. The character of the ground is quartz, granite, slate, and sand r 
with every appearance of having at some time been in a state of fusion. 
Experienced men who have visited this mine think very favorably of 
it. A number of persons with cradles are at work, and we hope next 
week to be able to report more fully on the subject. 

u Up to the 6th of this month, 160 licenses had been taken out for 



AUSTRALIA. 97 

the Peel Diggings. The largest quantity obtained by one party has been 
4 ounces per day. Renwick's party of three are still making 1^ ounce 
per day. The labor is not very heavy, as the precious metal is found 
principally in the river drift, and in holes and crevices of the rock, from 
which it is extracted with trowels and such like tools. 

" The escort brought in this week from Braidwood, 534 oz. ; Bell's 
Creek, 135 oz. ; Araluen, 303 oz. ; Goulburn. 81 oz. ; Sofala. 1,129 oz. ; 
Airsford, 918 oz. ; Tambannra, 458 oz. ; Bathurst, 291 oz. ; Ophir, 110 
oz. And the mails from Bathurst, 127 oz. ; Sofala, 484 oz. ; Mudgee, 
37 oz. : Goulburn, 92 oz. ; Braidford, 241 oz. ; Yass, 18 oz. ; and Tam- 
worth, 40 oz. In all, by escort and mails, 5.065 oz., in value about 
£16.461. 

" Letters are in town from the Rev. Mr. Clarke, who reports favor- 
ably of a large tract of country over which he has travelled. 

'-'• The price has varied through the week from 63s. to_64s., at which 
it was very firm yesterday ; but large quantities are expected from 
Melbourne during next week, which may reduce the price again. 

:i At Victoria the quantity coming in is still large ; the escort brought 
down last week 13,808 ounces 

" It is with sincere pleasure we announce that five of the gang who 
robbed the Nelson have been captured, and there is every reason to hope 
that they will all be taken ; we trust that no expense will be spared, and 
no stone left unturned, to bring these scoundrels to justice — it is the 
most barefaced robbery that has been committed since we lost our con- 
vict character, and as it is a matter that affects, directly or indirectly, 
every individual in the community, we hope our friends in Melbourne 
will see the propriety of not resting satisfied until every man concerned 
in this piracy has been secured. It was well remarked by a writer on 
the subject, that ' the success which attended them would prove emi- 
nently suggestive to other vagabonds, who would rather live by plunder, 
than work for an honest livelihood.' We would add, with still greater 
force, if possible, let the consequences be also as suggestive. One 
of the Insurance Companies at Melbourne has resolved not to take the 
risk of gold lying on board the vessels while in the port of Victoria. 

" The overland escort from Mount Alexander to Adelaide had reach- 
ed there safely, under the command of Mr. Commissioner Tolmer, in 
fourteen days, conveying upwards of 5 cwt. of gold ; — about £50.000 
worth of gold had been deposited in the assay oflice under the provi- 
sions of the Bullion Act, and the Bank of Australasia were still refus- 
ing to take ingots and issue their notes upon them. An attempt has 
7 





oz. 


„ , 


500 




6,339 




1,452 




8,291 


£26,945 


15 


1,208,380 


15 7 


£1,235,326 


10 7 



93 AUSTKALIA. 

been made by the Collector of Customs to claim an import duty of 5 
per cent, on the gold brought down by the Queen of Sheba, but it was 
supposed the Governor would not sanction it. 
" The export since our last has been — 

" April 13— Ann, for India 

" Tamar, for London . 

« 15—Sf. Vincent, for London 

Which, at 65s. per ounce, gives 
Add previous export 

Total exported to this date 

" Exchange on London— drafts against gold, 8 per cent discount 

" Freight. A per cent. r 

6 ' 2 F " G-eorge A. Lloyd. 

" 474, George Street, April 17th. 11 

Mr. John Godfrey Cohen's. 

" Since my last circular the banks have made some extensive pur- 
chases, mostly, it is understood, through private agents, the rates given 
being 64s. to 64s. 6d. My sales to-day amounted to £2,873 13s. 6d., the 
prices obtained averaging 64s. The temper of the market seems to 
have been slightly affected by the late advices from England, assigning 
a trifling inferiority to Turon gold. This circumstance has naturally 
created some distrust among buyers ; and there is an evident reluctance 
on the part of old speculators to follow advanced rates. Notwithstand- 
ing this prices have gone up, with a prospect of a further advance. 
At Melbourne also a great improvement in price has been sustained ; 
the Waratah, which vessel arrived there on the 8th, having conveyed 
to that market several extensive purchasers. The last escorts from 
Mount Alexander and Ballarat, brought 13,808 ounces. My letters, by 
this morning's mail, report the apprehension of several persons suspect- 
ed of having been concerned in the Nelson piracy. 

« By advices from Adelaide, dated March 30, I learn that the de- 
posits at the new Assay Office up to the 27th of that month, amounted 
to £76,742 4s., and that the ingot system appeared to be working satis- 
factorily. The latest accounts from Van Diemen's Land contain infor- 



AUSTRALIA. 99 

ination of a new discovery at Pittswater, which really bids fair to give 
important results ; several small nuggets, the size of shot and peas, 
having been found in the first washings. 

" A rumor was current in town yesterday, that a monster block of 
gold, 4 cwt., had been excavated from the quartz ridge of the Lousia. 
From inquiries which I have made, I learn that the company which is 
there bringing machinery to operate on the quartz, have broken out 
some large lumps, supposed to be fully the weight given, which are very 
richly impregnated with the precious metal. 

" The quantity of gold from our own diggings by public conveyance 
during the week was about 5,000 ounces. At the Turon some dry rich 
diggings are now in full work, and new discoveries have been made. 
Several beautiful nuggets of pure gold have reached Sydney, which 
were obtained at Circus Point, below Curtis's lower store, from ground, 
hitherto neglected. 

" John Godfrey Cohen, Auctioneer. 

" 490 George-street, April 17." 

SYDNEY PRODUCE CIRCULAR. 

" The quantity of wool offered at last sale was very small, and real- 
ized tolerably good prices, quite equal to last week's quotations. 

" Tallow, of which there was a considerable quantity, met with a 
ready sale, at, for beef, £25 12s. 6d. ; mutton, £27. A large number 
of hides fetched at from 7 s. 6d. to Ss. each. Sheepskins about as last 
quoted. 

■ Freights ,o London-Woo, j ShJ^^an-ffpe-nt 

Hides, 20s. to 25s. per ton. 

Tallow, 35s. per ton, and 5s. per cent. 

Oil, £3 per ton. 

Gold, i- per cent. 
Exchange on London. — Bank Drafts, 6£ per cent, discount. 
Private Bills, (with produce hypothecated,) 8 per cent, discount. 



PRICES 


CURRENT. 


WOOL. 


s. d. s. a, 


Superior clips 
Fair to good 
Low to middling 


13 to 1 4 

1 1£ 1 2{ 
10 11 



100 



AUSTKALIA. 



Grease .... 
Locks, pieces, broken wool, &c. 
Handwashed and scoured 



s. d. s. d. 

5_i to 8 

6 10 

11 16 



Beef . 
Mutton 

Station Tallow 
Hides, each . 
Sheepskins, per pound 



£26 to £0 

27 

22 24 

5 7 6 



31 



5| 



GOLD. 

Dust and nuggets, per ounce, £3 4s. 
" Circular Quay, Sydney, April 17, 1852." 



Thomas S. Mort. 



MELBOURNE GOLD CIRCULAR. 

" The market in the early part of the week was firm, and sales were 
made at higher rates than quoted in my last. There was less animation, 
however, in the middle of the week, and towards the latter end the 
price gave way, aad it was purchased on Friday at from £2 19s. 3d. to 
£2 19s. 6d. ; on Saturday, however, the market was firmer, and the 
holders seemed unwilling to realize at those rates. The large amount 
of capital which has been thrown into the metropolitan city has given 
an immense impetus to trade, which was never so brisk before ; and 
this prosperity will not be confined to the colony. The increase in the 
supply of the precious metal ? and the consequent advance in the money 
price of real property, and every article of consumption in Britain, will 
not only give increased facilities to trade, but will improve the condition 
of the vast majority of the people; the exceptions being capitalists, 
whose money is out at interest, and holders, and persons upon fixed in- 
comes. It is pretty generally understood that the distress in Great 
Britain during the period between 1818 and 1830 was chiefly owing to 
the great falling off in bullion consequent upon the War of Independence 
in the South American provinces ; and in the last year of which we can 
find any record of the quantity imported into Britain, we find it had 
fallen to £195,571. It is thus stated by Porter for 1836 :— Mexico 



AUSTRALIA. 101 

£70,210; Bolivia, £17,051; Chili, £78,515; Peru, £29,795. Total 
— £195,571. The gold shipped from Victoria already amounts to 
£1.359,834. 

" The gold from the diggings is still good, the Bendigo appearing to 
be the best part at the present moment. I have, however, had several 
lots lately from the Picaninny Creek, from Ballarat, and from the M'lon 
Creek, which it is said will be a very prolific place for diggers. I pur- 
chased a parcel of gold this week which came from Mount Macedon ; it 
was evidently from the surface, and very dark in color. I had one 
parcel from the Pyrenees of similar quality, and have little doubt both 
places will yield. 

" The money market continues still in a very unsatisfactory condi- 
tion ; the banks are now generally declining to advance upon gold, and 
this circumstance has visibly affected the market. As an instance of 
the state of the exchange between this place and England, I may men- 
tion that I had a bill of the great Rothschild's in my hands this week, 
and I could not get a better offer for it than 25 per cent, discount. 

" The escort brought this week, from Mount Alexander, 12,055 
ounces ; from Ballarat, 129 ounces. 



i; Collins -street, April 3d." 



u Thomas M'Combie, Gold Broker. 



102 AtJSTEALIA. 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE NEW GOLD REGULATIONS. 



(From the Sydney Government Gazette, April 2.) 



Colonial Secretary's Office, > 
Sydney, March 29, 1852. J 

His Excellency the Governor General has been pleased, with the 

advice of the Executive Council, to direct that the following consolidated 

and amended code of regulations for the management of the gold fields 

be published for general information : — 

I. ALLUVIAL GOLD-. 

1. Crown Land Licenses. 

1. No person will be permitted to dig, search for, or remove gold 
on or from any land, public or private, without first taking out a license 
in the form annexed. All gold procured without due authority will be 
seized, as being the property of the crown, in whose possession soever it 
may be. 

2. The license fee for Crown Lands has been fixed at one pound ten 
shillings per month, to be paid in advance. These licenses only extend 
to the extraction of alluvial gold, matrix gold being the subject of other 
regulations, which will be found in a subsequent part of the present 
code. 

3. Licenses can be obtained on the gold field from the commissioner, 
or assistant commissioner, appointed by his Excellency the Governor 
General to carry the regulations into effect, and who is authorized to 
receive the fee payable thereon. 

4. No person will be eligible to obtain a license, or the renewal of a 
license, unless he shall produce a certificate of discharge from his last 
service, or show to the satisfaction of the commissioner, or assistant 
commissioner, that he is not a person improperly absent from hired ser- 
vice. 

5. Persons desirous of establishing claims to new and unoccupied 



AUSTRALIA. 103 

ground by working in the ordinary method for alluvial gold, may have 
their claims marked out on the following scale to each person, namely : 

1. Fifteen feet frontage to either side of a river or main creek. 

2. Twenty feet of the bed of a tributary to a river or main creek, 

extending across its whole breadth. 

3. Sixty feet of the bed of a ravine or water-course. 

4. Twenty feet square of table land or river flats. 

6. These claims will be secured to the parties for such time only as 
they may continue to hold licenses for the same ; unless in case of flood, 
or other such unavoidable accident as shall, in the opinion of the com- 
missioner or assistant commissioner, render a suspension of the work 
inevitable. 

7. The above licenses may be cancelled and the claims forfeited, in 
consequence of the conviction of the holders, in any court of competent 
jurisdiction, of the illicit sale of spirits, or of any disorderly or riotous 
conduct endangering the public morals or peace. 

8. Persons found working alluvial gold on any land, public or pri- 
vate, without having previously paid the license fee to the proper officer, 
shall pay double the amount for such license ; and, in default, be pro 
ceeded against in the usual manner. 

9. If any dispute shall arise in respect of any claim, reference should 
be forthwith made by the complainant to the commissioner or assistant 
commissioner of the district, who will lose no time in hearing and sum- 
marily determining the case on the spot, according to the evidence 
adduced on either side, giving due notice, of course, to the party com- 
plained of. If necessary, he will take the proper measures for placing 
and maintaining the successful party in possession of the claim. 



2. Private Land Licenses. 

With respect to lands alienated by the crown in fee simple, the com- 
missioner will nGt be authorized to issue licenses under these regulations 
to any persons but the proprietors, or persons authorized by them in 
writing to apply for the same. The license fee for such lands will be 
one-half only of that payable for Crown Lands. Persons holding the 
same and working on Crown Lands, without licenses applicable thereto, 
will be liable to the payment of a double fee ; and all gold obtained 
without due authority will, as in the case of Crown Lands, be seized, as 
being the property of the Crown. 



104 AUSTKALIA. 



3. Water-Holes. 



1. Persons desirous of draining ponds or water-boles, for the pur- 
pose of obtaining alluvial gold, may make application in writing to the 
commissioner or assistant commissioner of the district, describing accu- 
rately the locality. Such applications s-hall be decided by priority, and 
shall be immediately recorded by such officer in a book to be kept by 
him for that purpose, which shall be open at all reasonable times to the 
inspection of applicants. If there should be no valid objection to the 
application from interference with alluvial digging, or other sufficient 
cause, the right to drain the water-hole will be conceded to the applicant 
on payment of such number of licenses as shall be proportioned to the 
area of the water-hole, calculated at the rate of twenty-five feet square 
for every license. A claim for emptying a water-hole will be deemed 
to extend twelve feet from the bank denning the boundary of such 
water-hole, together with sufficient space for the erection of machinery 
and for other necessary purposes, to be determined by the commissioner 
or assistant commissioner of the district. 

2. The commissioner or assistant commissioner is empowered to 
make such temporary regulations as may be necessary to prevent incon- 
venience to other licensed persons from the carrying on of operations of 
the above nature. 



4. Reservoirs for Washing Gold. 

1. Persons desirous of constructing reservoirs or dams in the gold 
fields, for the purpose of washing gold, should make application to the 
local assistant commissioner, who will, if the same should appear to him 
unquestionable, grant the requisite permission. 

2. The reservoirs or dams will be reserved for the exclusive use of 
the applicants, in all cases in which such reservations will not in the 
opinion of the assistant commissioner be detrimental to the public in- 
terest. 

5. Employers of 'Licensed Laborers. 

1. The owners of all claims who may employ men on hire, to assist 
them in working alluvial gold, and who may take out licenses for them, 
will be entitled, on application to the commissioner or assistant commis- 



AUSTRALIA. 105 

sioner of the district, to have the licenses of such men transferred to 
other laborers, in the event of their quitting their service, or ceasing to 
work for them. The licenses must in every such case be produced to 
the commissioner or assistant commissioner, who will endorse thereon 
without any additional fee the name of the transferee. 



H. MATRIX GOLD. 

1. Crown Lands. 

1. Persons desirous of working auriferous quartz veins may make 
application in writing to the commissioner or assistant commissioner of the 
gold district, accurately describing the locality. Such application shall 
be immediately recorded by such officer in a book to be kept for that 
purpose, which shall be open at all reasonable times to the inspection of 
applicants. In case no previous application shall have been made in 
the manner above described, and should there be no valid objection to 
the proposal, from interference with alluvial digging, or any other suffi- 
cient cause, the commissioner, on the same being approved of by the 
Government, shall notify to the Government his acceptance of the same. 
The applicant shall then enter into a bond, binding himself and his part- 
ners, should the Government be satisfied with the sufficiency of the par- 
ties, jointly and severally, in the sum of £1,000 to pay a royalty of 10 
per cent, on all gold obtained to an officer to be appointed for that pur- 
pose by the Government. If the Government be not satisfied with the 
sufficiency of the applicant, the two or more solvent and responsible par- 
ties must be named. He shall further be bound to permit such officer 
to reside on the land in the neighborhood of the works, at such spot as 
may be assigned by the commissioner, and also to give such officer ac- 
cess at all reasonable times to the buildings or premises, and to all 
books and accounts connected with the production of gold ; also to give 
all necessary facilities for the collection of the royalty, daily or weekly, 
as may be found most desirable. 

2. All buildings, machinery, or other improvements erected or made 
on the land shall be considered as additional security for the due per- 
formance of the conditions of the bond. 

3. The claim shall consist of half a mile of. and in the course of, the 
vein, with a quarter of a mile reserved on each side of such vein for 
building and other purposes necessary for carrying on operations. The 



106 AUSTRALIA. 

right of cutting or using timber for building or for firewood, from ad- 
joining crown lands, as well as access to neighboring water, shall also be 
conceded ; and, where the public convenience shall not suffer thereby, 
the commissioner or assistant commissioner of the district will be em- 
power to grant the exclusive right to necessary water, whether on the 
half-mile square inclosing the vein or in the immediate neighborhood. 

4. The beds of rivers or main creeks, intersected by veins, included 
in such claims, are not excluded from license to the public generally, 
except for a distance of fifty yards on each side of such veins. But 
with this exception no licenses shall be given to the public to dig for al- 
luvial gold on such claims. The holders of the claims, however, who 
may desire to work alluvial gold, must take out licenses on payment of 
the usual fee of thirty shillings monthly, for such number of persons 
as they may employ for this purpose. 

5. A claim, such as the above, shall be forfeited by the failure of the 
applicant to enter within a reasonable period, to be notified to him by 
the commissioner in writing, into the required bond : by his neglecting 
to pay the prescribed royalty, at the time and in the manner required 
by the bond ; by his not employing at least twenty persons, or machinery 
equivalent, calculated at the rate of one horse-power to seven men, on 
such claim within six months of the acceptance of his application for the 
same, unless such time shall be specially extended by the Government — 
by his ceasing to employ that number of persons or such machinery on 
the works for one month thereafter — by employing unlicensed persons 
to work alluvial gold on the claim — by obstructing the officer in the 
proper performance of his duty — or in any other way violating the terms 
of the bond. Such vein shall then be open to selection by other 
parties. 

6. The duration of the claim shall be three years, which, however, 
shall be extended for such further period as upon receipt of instructions 
from her majesty's Government may be determined upon, having due 
regard to the interests of the parties concerned. At the expiration of 
the term of their holding, or on the sooner determination of the tenure 
by the consent of the government, the parties shall have liberty to re- 
move all buildings, machinery, or other improvements erected or made 
by them, and a reasonable time shall be given for that purpose ; pro- 
vided always that the conditions of the bond shall have been duly ful- 
filled. ' 

7. No portion of land previously occupied under claims for alluvial 
gold will be open to selection for matrix gold, while it continues to be 
worked for the former. 



AUSTKALIA. 107 



2. Private Lands. 

Persons desirous of working auriferous quartz veins on private lands, 
shall be subject to the terms of the above regulations with the exception 
that the royalty payable on the gross product of gold shall be 5 per 
cent., and that they shall not be compelled to employ any specified 
number of persons, nor be liable to any penalty on their ceasing to 
work. 



Persons occupying portions of the gold field, by erecting temporary 
buildings, tents, &c, and carrying on any business, or following any 
trade or calling, shall pay a fee of thirty shillings monthly, for the use 
of the land so occupied by them ; and they are required to pay the same 
on demand, and in advance, to the officer appointed to receive payment 
of license fees. Such license may be cancelled at any time, should the 
land be required for any public purpose, or in consequence of the con- 
viction of the licensed occupant in any court of competent jurisdiction 
of the illicit sale of spirits, or of any disorderly or riotous conduct en- 
dangering the public morals or peace ; and in no case will any claim to 
compensation for improvements be recognized. 



IV. LAND HELD UNDER PASTORAL LEASES. 

Inconvenience being felt from the occupancy under lease, in terms 
of the regulations, of the 29th March, 1848, of such portions of the 
crown lands as are now being worked under licenses for digging gold, 
it has become necessary to terminate the leases in all such cases as shall 
be reported by the commissioner or assistant commissioner, to be de- 
sirable for securing to the licensed miners the undisturbed prosecution 
of their employment. On receiving such reports, the necessary notice 
will be given to the lessees, by the proper officer, of the termination of 
their leases, after the expiration of one month ; and the sum paid by 
such lessees for the lands resumed, or the proportion payable for the re- 
mainder of the term, will be refunded, as provided for in the regulations 
referred to. In acting on this regulation, no greater interference with 
the interests of the leases will be sanctioned, than may be absolutely 
necessary to insure the object contemplated. 



108 AUSTRALIA. 

Form referred to — 

GOLD LICENSE. 

No. . 185 . 

The bearer , having paid to me the sum of one pound, ten 

shillings, on account of the territorial revenue, I hereby license him to dig, search 
for, and remove alluvial gold, on and from any such crown land as I shall assign 
to him for that purpose, during the month of , 185 , subject to the 

government regulations in force for the time being for the management of the 
gold field. 

This license does not extend to matrix gold, and must be produced whenever 
demanded by me, or any other person acting under the authority of the govern- 
ment. 

(Signed) A. B., Commissioner. 



Since the foregoing was printed, fresh accounts have been received 
from the various diggings of the colonies so late as the middle of May. 

At Melbourne, it appears the miners have recommenced their labors 
with great energy. A large nugget — the largest yet — had been found 
opposite Golden Gulley, which is said to be worth £2,000, Many fatal 
accidents had occurred, owing to men falling into deserted holes, or the 
earth falling in upon them when undermining, and the want of due care. 
At Ballarat the miners were comparatively inactive. At Forest Creek 
there had been a few showers, but not enough to effect the water holes. 
The miners were looking with no little trepidation for the approach of 
winter. To the greater number of diggers it would be the first winter 
in the bush. The commissioners had relaxed their vigilance in exacting 
the license fee ; so that there was no ground for provoking opposition, 
or the resistance threatened a few months ago. The price of gold at 
Melbourne was 58s. per ounce, and not likely to advance until the ad- 
vent of English capital, money being more scarce than in Adelaide. 
The diggers at Coghill's Creek, distant fifteen miles from Ballaret, were 
doing well. At Cape Otway, also, the miners were reaping a good re- 
ward for their labor. The place is situated at the foot of the ranges, 
about eighteen miles from the coast, and about six from the head of the 
Barwon. Letters from Mount Alexander notice that more than a hun- 
dred men were employed in making roads. Neither have the authori- 
ties been backward in providing for the security of life and property. 



AUSTRALIA. 1Q9 



At the Bendigo diggings the miners were progressing favorably • but 
against th.s success must be considered the fact, that supplies there are 
generally 25 per cent, higher than at Forest Greek-while the price of 
gold is from 3s. to 4s. an ounce lower, or say about 125 per cent, higher 
than Melbourne prices, although not many miles distant. 



SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 



Via Singapore— Adelaide journals have been received to the middle of 
May. Several recent instances have occurred of footpads attacking per- 
sons after dark, for the purpose of plunder. In example of the foo°tpads 
at Melbourne, the ruffians attack every one that they meet in the street 
after dark, depending upon the law of chances. Many score men with- 
out a farthing in their pockets have been ill treated, but they occasionally 
secure a good prize. Such a state of things has induced the authorities 
to augment the police force. Considerable difficulty is experienced from 
the paucity of silver coin; and to meet the exigencies of the case, it was 
suggested, that one of the banking companies should issue five and ten 
shilling notes, which would be readily adopted by the community ■ and 
it was believed, that the destruction of notes which invariably results 
from a small-note circulation, would justify the expense and trouble 
incurred by issuing notes of small value. The city and district of Ade- 
laide-mdeed the entire province of South Australia, which, a few 
months' since, were cheerless and comparatively deserted, have once 
more a busy and happy population, the result of the opening of the over- 
land route to the diggings at Mount Alexander, and the expected issu- 
ing of gold bars from the Adelaide mint. The arrivals of gold by the 
escort having been made with great regularity, the aggregate in two 
months having exceeded £350,000, and there being a fair promise of about 
a ton of gold reaching monthly. Emigration to Melbourne still goes 
forward with much activity, but most of the men's families are left be- 
hind, and remittances sent to them by the government escort. The 
late bullion act has effectually relieved the province from the certain 
impending ruin which threatened it. And this reactionary effect will 
continue so long as the Adelaide mint offers £3 lis. per ounce for 
gold, assay value, or £3 8s. cash, while the ruling rate at Melbourne by 
latest advices, was only £2 19s. per ounce. ' 



110 ATJSTKALIA. 



VICTORIA. 

Port Phillip journals to the first week in May, notice that the Lieu- 
tenant Governor was making arrangements to stem the torrent of crime 
pouring upon the province ; he has authorized the erection of six out- 
stations at Mount Alexander, each to accommodate an assistant com- 
missioner, with a staff of officers, three horse and sixteen foot police, two 
police magistrates, stations and barracks for pensioners. The salaries 
of assistant commissioners have been increased from £300 to £400 per 
annum, and their establishments in proportion. The iron auxiliary 
screw steamer Conside, from San Francisco, is now running regularly 
between Melbourne and Sydney. The ordinary revenue at Melbourne 
for the quarter ending March 31st, was £75,272, and the territorial 
revenue, £156,827, the total being an increase over the same quarter in 
the previous year, of £182,981. The government were endeavoring to 
purchase a vessel of nearly 1 ,000 tons, to be used as a hulk for prisoners. 
A guard-ship has been placed in Hobson's Bay. Her Majesty's brig 
Fantome was daily expected to arrive, and would give protection to the 
shipping, and prevent a recurrence of so daring a robbery as that effected 
on board the Nelson. The Melbourne newspapers contain innumerable 
instances of violence, murders, affrays, night and day robberies, suf- 
ficiently attesting the character of hundreds of wretches who have re- 
sorted to the place for the basest purposes. 

Our last accounts mention that the Hooghly had sailed for England 
with 6,643 ounces of gold, besides which, there were 60,713 ounces in 
the assay office. Taking into account the quantities previously shipped, 
we have a grand total of 728,847 ounces produced in this colony alone, 
and worth, at the London rate of £4 per ounce, no less than £2,915,000. 
This statement, it must be remembered, does not include the amounts 
that remained in the hands of the diggers or others, nor the large quan- 
tities of gold sent by the overland escort to Adelaide. At this last- 
named town we have advice of the receipt of £81 1,000 worth of the pre- 
vious metal, (valued only at the local price of seventy-one shillings per 
ounce.) These returns are the latest yet received, and afford some idea 
of the extensive character of the gold production in the colony of 
Victoria. 



INDEX 



Advice to intendent Emigrants 83 

Agriculture . . 32 

Animals . 72 

Auction Duty ....... 67 

Australia, general description of... 5 

Availability for Colonization and Agriculture.. 33 



B. 



Barometer, range of. 21 

Barrier Reefs ■. 13 

Bathurst Island 17 

Bedford Cape ....11 

Bentinck Island 15 

Birds 73 

Booby Island 12 

Bountiful Island . ........ 15 

Bowling Green Cape 10 

Bremer Peak 11 

C. 

Carpentaria, Gulf of. 15 

Claremont Islands 11 

Clarence Strait 17 

Cleveland Cape 10 

Climate 18 

Coal 25, 27, 28, 30 

Coal, Cameron's Report 30 

Coast line, description of. 8 

Coinage of England 83 

Coins 68 

Colonization, date of. 5 

Commerce 44 

Commissions 68 

Copper ....27 

Crops and Produce, Table of. 33 

Cumberland Island 9 

Customs duties 62 

Customs at Sydney 64 

Customs at Port Phillip 68 

Custom House Charges 65 

Customs Storage at Adelaide 66 

13. 

Darling Harbor 57 

Darwin Port 17 

Dietary, Scale of 89 

Direction Cape 11 

Discoveries in N. S. Wales 75 

Discoveries in Victoria 76 

Dryander Mount 9 



Elliot Mount.... 9 

Emigration, Progress of. 76 

Endeavour River 10 

Endeavour Strait 12 

Essington Port 16 

Extent of Country. 5 

Exports, Table of. . 45 

F. 

Fair Cape 11 

Flattery Cape 11 

Future prospects 79 

O. 

Geology .24-27 

Gold 26, 27, 29 

Gold Circulars . 95, 98, 100 

Gold, Largest Lump of. 91 

G old Productions 92 

Government 69 

Government Returns 91 

Gould Island Peak 10 

H. 

Harbor Dues. 65 

Headlands » 7 

Hillsborough Cape 9 

Horses 41 

I. 

Imports, Table of. 44 

Inscription Point 15 

Insects 74 

Iron 2S 

li. 

Labor, Former demand for 34-39 

Land in Cultivation........ 33 

Law, Courts of 70 

Lead Mines 29 

Licenses at Sydney 67 

License for digging Gold 108 

Live Stock, Increase of. 41 

Lizard Island 11 

Long Creek, Diggins at 94 

Longevity of Inhabitants 20, 24 



112 



INDEX. 



M. 



Maize, Production of. 19 

Manganese '. 29 

Marine Insurance 68 

Meat Salt, Table oi" Export 42 

Melville Cape 11 

Melville Island 16 

Mineralogy 27 

MollePort 9 

Morals, Improvement in 50 

Mountains 7 

X. 
Northumberland Islands 8 

P. 

Palm Islands 10 

Palmerston Cape 8 

Percy Islands 8 

Pierce Point 17 

Pilotage, Rates of 66 

Platina 29 

Population 49 

Port Jackson 56 

Port Phillip 57 

Postage of Letters 67 

Position, Boundaries, &c 6 

Possession Islands* 12 

Potatoes, Production of 19 

Produce, Circular Sydney 99 

Productions of Several Districts, Tables of. .34-39 

Productions of Australian Soils 39 

Princess Charl otte Bay 11 

Pudding Pan Hill 11 

R. 

Raffles Bay 16 

Rain 22, 23 

Regulations at the Gold Diggings 102 

Reptiles 74 

Restoration Island 11 

Results of Gold Discoveries 77 

Rivers 7 

S. 

Sailing Directions 52 

Sailing for Entering Port Phillip 58 

Seasons 19, 20 

Shipping, Increase of. 45 

Shipping, Table of 46 

Society, State of, and Improvement among 

Population - 48 

Soils, Productiveness of. 39 

Steel ; 27 



PAGE 

Sweers' Island 15 

Sydney Cove , 57 

Sydney, Port of. 57 

Sydney, Town of. 56 



T. 

Tables of Agriculture and other Productions 
of the several Districts and demand for 

Labor 34-39 

Tables of Imports and Exports 44 

" Land in cultivation, showing Crops 

and Produce 33 

" Lard and Tallow Produced 43 

" Progressive Increase of Live Stock.. 41 
" Salt Meat Exported from 1843 to 1848.42 

" Increase of Shipping 46 

" Whale Fisheries, Value of, in 18 years, 

&c 47 

" Wool Exported from 1826 to 1848. . . .43 
" Vine, Number of Acres planted with, 

&c 40 

Tariff. 62 

Thermometer, Range of. 21 

Tides 52 

Tonnage Duty 65 

Topographical Description 6 

Torres Strait 15 

Treachery Bay 17 

U. 

Upstart Cape.. 9 

V. 

Value of the Troy Pound of Gold 82 

Van Diemen's Land 6 

W. 

Wages 91 

Warehouse Rent 68 

Weights and Measures 68 

Went worth Gold Fields 93 

Whale Fishery, Value of, Number of Ships 

with Tables 47 

What to take to Australia 86 

Wheat, Production of. 19 

Wickham River 9 

Winds 53 

Wine and' Brandy, Table of Produce, &c 40 

Wool, Origin, Progress, and Production of, with 

Tables 42, 43 

Wreck Reef. 14 

Y. 
York Cape 11 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 113 

G. F. HUGHES & CO., 

AND 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE OFFICE, 

NO. 39, WEST-ST., NEW-YORK 

The great increase in Emigration to all parts of the World, occasioned chiefly by the discoveries ot 

Gold in California, together with the more recent development of the rich auriferous regions of 

Australia, and the daily increasing facilities for travel, both by Steam and Sailing Ships, have induced 

the subscribers to establish an Office, having for its object that of furnishing to intendent travellers 

Full and correct information as to the Hates of Passage, together with the dates of Sailing, 

and the character of all classes of vessels to any part of the world, and securing 

Passage by any Vessel or Line that may be selected. 

n Ji an ,? ffice r tl l i8, ?? s l0 ? g beenneeded ; ^r those already established generally confine their 
operations to a particular line of packets or steamships, representing of course, " the Line » for which 
lteiH 0l h CU pat ?" a ° e > as W™, t0 a, L ° therS - ll is ' th « ref °re, obviously necessary thS the public 
should be guarded against the delay and imposition too frequently encountered, by takin- passage of 
designing and unprincipled persons, whose only object is that of securing the passage money? teal in- 
lpJ^ n Lf Se T' tlel $ ™. tims to wait, at an enormous expense, for days and even "weeks before the 
SgX^^ P— ed to such a 

A WEEKLY CIRCULAR 

IS PUBLISHED SETTING FORTH THE 

Names, Proposed Days of Departure, Price of Passage, etc., etc., 

2£™ c ™ e «Er f ™^ s adveitis . ed t0 sail fr°m this to foreign and home ports. This can be obtained 
*REE OF CHARGE, on application personally, or by letter, to the subscribers, who w ; ll at all times 
• l e ■ y v t ° PI e a a T u ' and * m P artlal opinion regarding the comparative accommodations to be met 
with in the different Lines of Sailing and Steam Ships. 

Persons wishing to Send for Tkeir Friends from the Old Country, 

Can do so through this Agency. The same arrangements beine in force with respect to vessels on 
i heir homeward voyage. 

THOSE DESIROUS OF 

Can be furnished with Drafts to any amount, on all the principal cities and towns throughout England, 
Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Germany. Residents in the country wishing to save time and 
expense, can do so, by enclosing per Post, to the subscribers, the sum they wish to send, with the name 
and address of the Party who is to receive it, when a Draft on the nearest Branch Bank to the resi- 
dence of the party addressed, will be forwarded by the first Steamer, with as much punctuality as if 
the person sending it were present, and a receipt returned for the amount by next mail. 

Emigrants and others forwarded in the most Expeditious and Econom- 
ical manner to all Parts of the West and Canada. 

For further particulars apply to, or address by letter, post-paid, 

39 West Street, New- York. 

8 



1 1 4 ADVERTISEMENTS. 

BERFOBD AND CO'S 

GREAT 



SOUTH AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN 



IN CHARGE OF SPECIAL MESSENGERS. 

From NEW-YORK on the 5th, 9th, 20th and 24th of ever j Month, 
and from CALIFORNIA three times a month, in the U. S. & P. 
M. S. S. Co's Splendid Steamers ; and 

From NEW-YORK and PORT PHILLIP, by each of the 
Clipper Ships. 

OFFICES. 



W. S. Ware, Greytown, Nicaragua. 

Berford & Co., San Francisco. 

Berford & Co., Port Phillip and Sydney, Australia. 



Berford & Co., No. 2. Vesey St., New York. 
W. P. Dockray, No. 7 State Street, Boston. 
Wm. Nelson & Co., Aspinwall City, Navy Bay. 
Wm. Nelson & Co., Panama. 



FREIGHT, PACKAGES AND PARCELS 

OF EVERY DESCRIPTION, 

F0&WM0BD TO ALL PARTS @F Til WOULD. 

Our arrangements are superior to those of any other Express. Shippers 
can rest assured that there will be no Detention. 

Bills of Exchange drawn on New- York, Boston, California Sf Australia. 

Notes, Drafts, and Bills Collected. 

PASSAGE TO KM FROM CALIFORNIA ANO AUSTRALIA 

SECURED AT OUR OFFICE. 

Our Agent (Mr. Mumford) in Australia, at Port Phillip and Syd- 
ney, will receive on consignment any Goods that may be shipped to his 
care, and remit on sale of the same. 

Gold Dust bought at the Highest Rates* 

AN INDEPENDENT LETTER MAIL 

WILL BE SENT BY 
FROM THIS PORT. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 115 

CALIFORNIA, OREGON, & AUSTRALIA 




LONDON & NEW YORK PICKLE & PRESERVE WAREHOUSE. 

46 VESEY STREET, NEW-YORK. 



New-York, April, 1852. 
Sir: 

Having taken the premises as above, which, from its capacity, 
will enable me to keep a greater variety of Goods than heretofore, permit me to 
ask the favor of your custom ; and. from arrangements recently made in Europe, I 
do not hesitate to say that there is no establishment in the United States where 
such a variety of articles in the same trade may be had; and which, on inspection, 
will be found satisfactory to all, both in price and quality. Referring you to a few 
articles recently received, of which I solicit your inspection, 

I am, Sir, Yours respectfully, 

GEORGE RAPHAEL. 

London Mustard, in kegs, cans and bottles, warranted the first quality. 

London Pickles, Sauces, Ketchups, &c, in all the various styles. 

Stilton, Gloucester, and Chedder Cheese, the finest ever imported. 

India Soy, Currie Powder, and African Cayenne, in fancy Chinese Packages. 

West India Arrow-root and Mangoes. 

Sardines, Anchovies, Capers, and Olives. 

Salad Dressing. Fresh Fruits of every variety. 

Brandy Peaches, Cherries, Pears, &c. 
Hermetically Sealed Oysters, Lobsters. Meats, &c, warranted. 
Jellies, Jams, Marmalades, &c, in bottles, cans, and stone ware. 
Rose, Peach, and Orange Flower Waters, in Plain and Fancy bottles. 
Cologne and Florida Waters, in every style and quality. 

Syrups of various kinds, Lime Juice and Stoughton Bitters. 

Cavier, Game, Meat, Anchovy, and Bloater Paste. 

Imported and Domestic Preserves, in every variety. 

French, English, and American Chocolate, in powder and cakes ; 
Together with a Superior assortment of Domestic 

PICKLES, SAUCES, KETCHUPS, &c, IN EVERY STYLE, 

Comprising the greatest variety in the United States, 
46 VESEY STREET. 

United States Depot for Paul De Vere & Co's Flavoring Extracts. 

MERCHANTS, SHIPPERS, AND THE TRADE, WILL DO WELL TO CALL AS 
ABOVE, BEFORE PURCHASING ELSEWHERE. 



116 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



ktd$i 



DRY GOODS 

FOR 

^Um&$ m§tf^ l!! w ^ 

AND 
COACH AND CA R-M AKERS 



jtt$ftfttft0ttS, 



NEAR ASTOR HOUSE, 



ivMtmmv, 



WHERE THEY ARE NOW OPENING AN ENTIRE NEW STOCK OF 

To which Branch of Trade their attention will hereafter be exclusively 

directed. 
They will have constantly on hand and will be receiving direct from 
the manufacturers, every description and quality of 
4-4 Family Linens. 
Linen and Cotton Sheetings. 

Do Do Pillow Casings. 

Table Damasks, Napkins and Towelings. 
Counterpanes and Quilts. 
Satin Delaines and Brocatelle. 
Damask and Draperies. 
Colored and White Blankets. 
Carpetings, all the Varieties. 
Matting and Druggets. 
Curled Hair and Feathers. 
Also a Full and Comjilete Assortment of Blankets and Dry Goods for 

Miners' Use. 

CHARLES H. RING-, 

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL 

DRUGGIST AND APOTHECARY, 

192 BROADWAY, 

CORNER JOHN STREET, NEW-YORK 



PROPRIETOR OF 

RING'S Verbena Cream for Shaving, 
" Restorative Bitters, 
" Comp'd Syr. Potassa for Rheumatism, 
" Candy for Coughs, Colds, &c, 
« Comp'd Ex't Sarsaparilla, Cubebs, & Co- 
" Rosemary Cerate for Tetter, &c. [paba 
" Diarrhoea Mixture, 

Paintur's Diamond Cement, 

Langley's Magnesian Aperient, 

Ouzeley's Arabic Elixir, 

Jeffrie's Antidote, 

Gardner's Hair Dye, 

Jet Gloss " do 

LYON'S KATHAIRON AND 



AGENT FOR 

Dr. Jayne's (Phila.) Medicines, 

" Rose's " do 

" Swayne's " . Syr. Wild Cherry. 

" Swaim's " Panacea. 

" Hoofland's " German Bitters. 

" Rowand's " " Tonic Mixture. 

" Crossman's " Specific Mixture. 
Wistar's Balsam Wild Cherry. 
Ayers's Cherry Pectoral. 
Townsend's, Sand's & Bull's Sarsaparilk 
Mrs. E. Kidder's Dysentery Cordial. 
Dr. Morse's Invigorating Cordial. 
Dr. Osgood's India Cholagogue. 
PURE JAMAICA GINGER. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



117 



L I F E INSJJRA N C E . 
THE MANHATTAN 

Mm mmmmm ®mmm 

OF NE W- YORK. 
Cash Capital $100,000. 

INDEPENDENT OF THE PREMIUM FUND. 

OFFICES, No. 146 BROADWAY Corner of LIBERTY-STREET. 



This Company continues to insure against all manner of Life risks on most favorable terms. Per- 
sons may insure in this Company either with or without participation in the profits. Australia and 
California Permits granted at the lowest rates. 

A. A. ALVORD, President. 
N. D. MORGAN, Actuary. C. Y. WEMPLE, Secretary. 

ABRAM DUBOIS, M. D., at the Office daily, from Two to Three o'clock, P. M. 



DIRECTORS. 



Ambrose C. Kingsland, 
Silas C. Herring, 
Eleazar Parmly, 
George D. Phelps, 
Alonzo A. Alvord, 
Wm. J. Valentine, 
John S. Williams, 
E. J. Anderson, 
D. Austin Muir, 



Daniel Burnett, 
Humphrey Phelps, 
John S. Harris, 
George Webb, 
John P. Brown, 
John A. Merrit, 
Henry Stokes, 
Edwin D. Morffan, 
Caleb S. Woodhull, 



Myndert Van Schaick, 
Enoch Dean, 
Nath. G. Bradford, 
Edwin J. Brown, 
D. Henry Haight, 
Denton Pearsall, 
Henry A. Kerr, 
Edwin Haight, 
J. C. Baldwin, 



Wm. K. Strong, 
George Hastings, 
James Van Norden, 
David S. Mills, Jr.. 
J. B. Herrick, 
J. P. Ware, 
Lewis B. Loder. 
Henry Erben, 
Philip Reynolds. 



TEA AND SE6ARS. 

PEOPLE'S TEA STOKE, 

No. Ill* NASSAU STREET NEW-YORK. 



Tea and Coffee put up in canisters suitable for Sea Voyages, 5, 6, and 
10 lb. boxes for Domestic Use, of the finest Chop and beautiful Flavor. 
Fine English Breakfast Tea, from Nicholas and Co., Fenchurch Street, 
London. Fine Havana and Principe Segars, at Wholesale or Retail. 
Also a fine assortment of Cheroots. 



IHAfl MAf 



771 



Constantly on hand, a large assortment of Hats, including the Paris, 
London and New-York Fashions, made under his own inspection, of the 
best Stock the Market can produce, and sold at prices 25 per cent, below 
Broadway Houses. 

Storm. Travelling. Riding, and Dress Caps. 

COLEMAN'S. 1 1 1 Nassau Street. 



118 ADVERTISEMENTS. 

G-ENTLEMEFS FURNISHING STORE, 

256 BROADWAY, 

BETWEEN MURRAY AND WARREN STREETS. 

J. AGATE, (formerly Parsells and Agate,) having removed to a more 
eligible and central location, avails himself of this opportunity to direct 
the attention of the fashionable world, and the public generally, to his 
extensive and varied Stock of Gentlemen's Under Clothing, and other 
articles of personal wear, comprising 

CRAVATS, SCARFS, SUSPENDERS, 

GLOVES, HOSIERY, UNDER SHIRTS, DRAWERS, DRESSING ROBES, RIDING BELTS, h 

He would especially invite the attention of the public to a compa- 
rison between the 

CELEBRATED COEAZZA SHIRT, 

manufactured exclusively at his Establishment, and any other style 
before the public. Sets of these Shirts, made to order, are guaranteed 
to be unsurpassed in fit and workmanship by any in the World. The 
subscriber also solicits the attention of parents, guardians, &c, to his 

PATENT ELASTIC SHOULDER BRACE, 

for supporting, strengthening, and preserving the symmetry of the figure. 

ft^" New Groods received monthly from Special Agents in Paris 
and London. Every article guaranteed to fit and give satisfaction. 

J. AGATE, 

256 Broadway, between Murray and Warren Streets. 

©♦ A El© <9» ©BWILIIEU 

CLOTHING AT WHOLESALE & RETAIL, 

33 & 35 John St., cor. Nassau, NEW-YOKK. 



The subscribers have always on hand an immense Stock of Clothing, 
suited to all Parts of this Continent, and supply the wants of Travellers 
to California or Australia, with their outfit on the most reasonable 
terms. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



119 



liirtitltU fxamt %um. 

' -^>*o»» 

EMIGRANTS proceeding to AUSTRALIA are invited to call on the 
subscriber and examine the Plans and Specifications of HOUSES manu- 
factured by him expressly for transportation to the GOLD REGIONS. 
The Prices vary from $150 to $1500. 
The simplicity and solidity of construction are a sufficient guarantee 
to render comment unnecessary. 

THOMAS DQBSON, Builder, 

13, Morris-street, New- York. 

phillTps' Latent 

OFFICE 4 WARREN-ST. 

The confidence of the Public in Phillip's Fire Annhilator 'has been greatly 
strengthened by its successful operation in extinguishing a fire on board the 
Steamship City of Manchester on her last return from Liverpool, on the 9th July 
last, in the spirit room of the ship. There is no doubt that this fine Steamer and 
her valuable cargo was saved from entire destruction by Phillips' Fire Annihilator. 

The Corsipore East Indiaman on her homeward voyage from Calcutta with 300 
Emigrants, and the Bark Pollux from Buenos Ayres, were both saved from burning 
by the Annihilator; and certificates by Captains in the R. N. and Merchant Ser- 
vice are now frequently received by the Company, who all express their opinions 
that the invention is a most valuable and efficacious discovery for the preservation 
of Life and Property. 

Phillips' Patent Fire Annihilator has heen in successful operation in Great Britain for several years, 
and in hundreds of cases it has put out accidental fires and been the means of saving from destruction 
a vast amount of property. On the Continent of Europe it has also gone into very extensive use, and 
several of the most scientific gentlemen of Paris have given unqualified approbation of the invention. 

Recent Public demonstrations have been made at New- York, Newark, Jersey City, N. J., Lowell, 
Mass., Washington, D. C, and at Washington. Del., before the Fire Department, City authorities, and 
other distinguished gentlemen, who have testified to the great merits of the invention, as can be seen by 
the certificates. They speak in the most positive terms of the ability of the Fire Annihilator as capable 
of extinguishing any Fire on being applied when the conflagration is first discovered. The Presidents 
of several Insurance Companies are among those who have signed the certificates. Persons of in- 
tegrity, possessing good business qualifications, can procure profitable Agencies, with a small amount 
of Capital, at the Office of the Company, or by letter to N. I. Eldridge, 4 Warren St., and where ample 
evidences of the efficiency of the Annihilator will be furnished. 

m 

G-REAT SAVING OF TIME AND LABOR. Price $7. 

The Ladies of New-York are at length to be put in possession of an Invaluable Treasure, 

SABIN'S NEWLY INVENTED 

WISHING MACHINE, 

THE ONLY THING OF THE KIND THAT HAS EVER PROVED SUCCESSFUL. 

This truly useful Machine is warranted to wash perfectly clean without the slightest damage to the 
clothes, fine sheets, or shirts, in THREE MINUTES TIME ! ! ! It is perfectly plain and simple, and 
can be worked by a child with ease. The ordinary washing of a family can be done by it in ONE 
HOUR'S TIME ! ! ! with a very small amount of labor. 

The subscriber bavins: purchased, at immense cost, the patent-right for the Invention, takes pleasure 
in offering this WASHING MACHINE to the Public, and in assuring them that it is NO HUMBUG. 

He is willing that any one should try it for two weeks, and allow it to be returned if it shall be found 
in anywise different from what it is here described. He invites all to call at No. 13 Morris-street, where 
he will be happy to exhibit the Machine, and to show what it is capable of accomplishing. Sold by 

A. B. ALLEN & Co., 189 Water st, and by 
THOMAS D0BS0N, 13 Morris st., New-York. 



120 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



AGRICULTURAL 



AND 



Ba ® is t a © tyj il it qo r ia \l 

OIPLE1EWTS, 



PARTICULARLY FITTED FOR 



MS^MMffi «?!!«< 



MINING TOOLS also, of the very best kinds in use. 



Plows. — Of these we have upwards of ONE 
HUNDRED different kinds and sizes, modeled af- 
ter the newest and most approved forms for ease 
of draft and effectual work. They are as strong 
as the English, but altogether lighter and cheaper. 
In addition to the more Common kinds of Plows, 
we manufacture others with lock Coulters ana 
Steel Shares, expressly for shearing bogs, cutting 
roots, and breaking up newly drained swamps, 
and recently cleared bush or forest lands. We 
have also the Rice Plow, the Sugar Cane Plow, 
the Cotton Plow, the Double Mould or Ditching 
Plow, the Side Hill or Swing or Turn Wrest 
Plow, the Trench Plow, &c, with Crane and dial 
Clevis and Centre draft-rod— a new and admirable 
recent invention, which easily gauges the Plow 
to run close to a ditch or fence, and enables the 
off horse to tread on firm ground, instead of an 
open miry furrow, in plowing wet meadows. 

Price from $1 50 to $20 00. 

Harrows. — Of these we have a great variety, 
Triangle, Swing, Square &c, with hinges and 
rods between the arms, thus enabling them to 
cover all the land in harrowing, however uneven 
the surface. 

Price $5 00 to 15 00. 

Rollers in Cast Iron Sections, of any desired 
width. 

Price $10 00 to 75 00. 

Seed Sowers of various kinds, for planting 
all kinds of farm and garden seeds. 

Price $3 00 to 14 00. 

Corn Planter, will plant any required distance 
apart. 

Price $16 00. 

Wheat Drills. Price.. $75 00 to 100 00. 
Cultivators, for Corn, Cotton, Sugar Cane, 
Potatoes, &c— Some of these are of recent im- 
provement and invention, and' greatly facilitate 
cultivating the crops, superseding hoeing almost 
entirely. 

Price $4 50 to 10 00. 

Mowing Machines, will cut from to 
acres per day, in the most perfect manner. 

Price $125 00 to 145 00. 



Reaping Machines, will cut from fifteen to 
twenty acres per day. 

Price $125 00 to 150 00. 

Horse Powers for one to six horses; very sim- 
ple, and strong in their construction ; not easy to 
get out cf order. 

Price $80 00 to 125 00. 

Threshing Machines, will thresh from Sev- 
enty-five to One Hundred and Eighty bushels per 
day. 

Price $25 00 to 45 00. 

Fan Mills for cleaning rice and grain, vari- 
ous sizes. 

Price $12 00 to 35 00. 

Corn Shellers, will shell from five to one 
hundred and twenty bushels per hour. 

Price $6 50 to 90 00. 

Grain Mills of Stone or Cast Iron, to grind 
by hand or other power. 

Price of the latter, from $6 00 to 25 00. 

" former $30 00 to 150 00. 

Straw & Corn Stalk Cutters of various 
kinds and sizes. 
Price $3 00 to 50 00. 

Wagons & Carts, for hand, mules, horses or 
oxen. 
Price $20 OOtolSO 00. 

Wheel & Canal Barrows. 
Price $2 25 to 6 00. 

Shovels, Spades, Hoes, Manure and Hay Forks, 
Scythes, Cradles, and in fact all kinds of Farming 
tools. 

Garden Implements of all kinds, a large as- 
sortment. 

MINING TOOLS. 

Quartz Crushers, Pick Axes of very superior 
kinds, made expressly for the Miner ; also Crow- 
bars, long and short-handled Shovels and Spades 
for ditching, Water Rams, Hose, Lead Pipe, 
Pumps, &c.~, &c. 

Seeds for the Farm and Garden. 

These are particularly suited for the Climate 
of Australia, and all warm and temperate lati- 
tudes. 

tr3=- A descriptive Catalogue of the above 
will be forwarded when desired. 



A. B. ALLEN & Co. 

189 & 191 Water St. 

New-York. 




AUSTEALIA: 



BEING 

- BRIEF COMPENDIUM OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION TOPO- 

GKAPHT, CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES, DESCRIPTION 

OF THE PRINCIPAL RIVERS, HEADLANDS, 

PRODUCTIONS, CLIMATE, SAILING 

DIRECTIONS, ETC., ETC. ; 

THE WHOLE FORMING 

COMPLETE HAND-BOOK OR GUIDE TO THE GOLD REGIONS: 

INTENDED FOR THE USE OF 
MERCHANTS, SHIP- MiSIEK8 , INTENDESI ^^^ ^ 







TO WHICH IS APPENDED 

A VALUABLE COLLECTION OF TABLES, 

COMPILED FEOM AUTHENTIC SOURCES, 
SHOWING- 

THE RAtE Zur° R due . s ' cusxoms tariff - pilot - d t — 

PUBUO OFFICERS' F EES , LICENSES, TOLLS, REGULATIONS 
FOR TH E GOLD REGIONS, ETC., ETC. 



BY 



BENTHAM FABIAN 



NEW- YOKE : 
PUBLISHED FOE THE EDITOR BY G. F. HUGHES & CO 

39 WEST-STREET. ' 

1852. 




EAGLE LINE OF PACKETS 
FOR AUSTRALIA, 

«®* Will sail punctually on the 15th day of every month, (commencing on <M» 
the 15th of October.) for Port Philip and Sydney, connecting there 
with regular packets to Adelaide, Swan River, Hobart Town, and New 
Zealand. 

The Vessels comprising this "Line" are First-Class Clipper Ships, 

Noted for their fast sailing qualities. They are built in the most sub- 
stantial and perfect manner, and are well ventilated throughout. 

The accommodations for Cabin and Second-Class Passengers cannot 
be surpassed. 

The price of passage varies from $125 to $225. 

For further particulars apply to 

FABIAN & PARKIN, 

39 West Street, New-York. 

FABIAN & PARKIN, 
GENERAL COMMISSION MERCHANTS, 

SHIP AND INSURANCE BROKERS, 
AND AUSTRALIAN AGENTS, 

39 WEST STEEET, NEW-YORK. 

An intimate knowledge of the Australian markets, based on a tra- 
ding experience of some years, enables Messrs. F. & P. to offer facilities 
and advice to Shippers and intendent emigrants. Samples and Mer- 
chandize forwarded direct to the care of their Agents in either Port 
Phillip. Sydney or Adelaide. 

ECf 3 Agents for the Eagle Line of Australian Packets. 

THE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL, 

A MONTHLY RECORD OF THE PROGRESS AND PROS- 
PECTS OF THIS NEWLY-DISCOVERED EL DORADO- 

BY BE1VTBAUI FABIAN, 

EDITOR OF THE GUIDE OR HAND-BOOK TO AUSTRALIA. 

Published by Gr. F. Hughes & Co., 39 West Street, New-York. 
Price $1 per annum. 

Country subscribers can be furnished through the Post on forward- 
ing their address and subscription. 









t 



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S- 



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9- v* 




JE% FEB. 66 

W&W- N. MANCHESTER. 
^ ^S# INDIANA 



